March 2006 - Prepared by Scruggs & Associates, Inc. – Davidson, NC

Overview

 

This document is an economic profile of Manatee County, Florida. The purpose of this information is to assist business and community leaders in developing a five-year plan to strengthen and sustain the economy of Manatee County.  The economic profile contains three primary sections:

§         The Industry Component:

o       Overall job, wage and firm growth of Manatee County and the metro region, including employer and self-employed data and comparisons to national averages.

o       Current industry cluster information to identify changes in Manatee County’s traded sector industries and potential emerging industries that may promise significant job growth.

o       The value of the region’s economy as measured by the gross metropolitan product (GMP).

§         The Workforce Component:

o       Trends in the labor force and occupational mix of workers to identify the changing skills in the region’s labor force.

o       Demographic information including changes in population, income, educational attainment of workers and other factors that affect the economic climate of a region.

§         The Business Climate Component:

o       Factors including innovation indicators such as patents and venture capital, and cost indicators such as housing/wage ratios.

 

Data and Methodology

When possible, Manatee County data was compared to regional and national averages, as well as other metropolitan regions competing for manufacturing and professional/technical jobs.

Most employment, wage and demographic data contained in this report came from federal government sources including the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Census Bureau, Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight and the US Patent Office.

The data used to calculate job, firm, wage and industry cluster growth came from the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s “quarterly census of employment and wages” data (also known as covered employment which is derived from quarterly tax reporting from companies with employees covered by state unemployment insurance laws and “current employment statistics” (derived from a monthly survey of businesses, and includes both covered employment and other presumed employment).  Self-employed data is reported separately.

In most cases, the profile tracks growth from 1999 to 2004.  In some cases, preliminary data for June or December 2005 was included, however, average annual numbers for 2005 were not available at the time of analysis.

Seven other metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) were used as comparisons to the Sarasota Bradenton region.  These regions compete for manufacturing jobs as well as for professional and technical services firms.  The regions were chosen by the Economic Development Council, a division of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce, and include Atlanta, GA; Charlotte, NC; Flint, MI; Greensboro, NC; New Haven, CT; New York, NY; and Pittsburgh, PA.

Note: On March 8, 2006, the State of Florida released revised employment numbers based on reporting changes for Professional Employer Organizations (PEO) firms.  These numbers are reflected in the statistics using BLS “current employment statistics” for overall metro area employment.  PEO reporting changes to county level covered employment or detailed industry data using ES-202 files did not occur until 2005.  Therefore, the county level covered employment data used in this report that spans the time period from 1999-2004 are not affected by the changes.

Part I: The Industry Component

This section focuses on data that describes the county and regional job base, including the overall growth in employment, wages and firms; growth in traded sector industries that pay family wages; trends in existing and emerging industry groups or clusters; and analysis of the potential economic impact of targeted industry clusters focusing on their linkages with other sectors in the economy.

Employment (Job) Growth

Key Observations

§         From 1999-2004, Manatee County gained over 8,300 jobs.  This job growth was consistent with state job gains and exceeded US job growth rates for that period.

§         The Sarasota Bradenton MSA has fully recovered beyond its peak employment of 2000, outpacing the recovery of other competitor regions (Atlanta, Buffalo, Charlotte, Greensboro, New Haven, New York, Pittsburgh).

§         Job growth in traded sector industries came from service-producing firms including financial establishments, professional and technical services, and management of companies.

§         With the exception of fabricated metals, most major manufacturing sectors lost employment from 1999-2004. However, preliminary data for 2005 shows a slight gain in manufacturing jobs.

§         Regional industries (e.g. construction, health services, and education) as well as retail and tourism sectors continue to grow

Regional Employment Overview

Since Manatee County’s economy is embedded within a regional economy, it is important to review the broader economy in which county businesses operate.  The following summary of regional employment was developed using current employment statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics[1].  The estimates do not include estimates of the self-employed.

§         In 2005, the average non-farm employment for the Sarasota Bradenton MSA was approximately 300,000 jobs. 

o       Over 91% of these jobs, (approximately 273,000 jobs) were in the private sector.

o       Just under 46,000 jobs (15 %) were in goods-producing industries such as manufacturing and construction.

o       Approximately 254,000 jobs (85%) were in service-producing industries including wholesale and retail trade, financial services, professional and technical services, education, health care, personal services, arts and tourism.

 

During the past five years, the US economy experienced a sharp decline in employment, followed by a slow recovery.  Many metro areas are yet to recover to the same level of peak employment achieved in 2000.  According to Global Insights[2], Sarasota Bradenton recovered to its peak employment in 2002.  Of the eight regions used for comparisons, the Sarasota Bradenton region was the only region to recover in less than four years.  Charlotte recovered to peak employment in 2005; Atlanta, New Haven, and New York are projected to recover in 2006; and Buffalo, Greensboro and Pittsburgh are projected to recover to peak employment in 2007 or later years. 

Job growth in the Sarasota Bradenton metro region has increased sharply in the last several years.  The preliminary job growth estimates for 2004-2005 indicate the region grew at a rate of over 6%, far exceeding the growth rate of comparison regions.  The following chart compares last year’s employment growth with competitive regions.

 

Chart 1: Job Growth of Selected Metropolitan Areas

 

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, At a Glance Tables

Manatee County Employment Trends

In 2004, Manatee County had approximately 107,500 covered private sector jobs, an increase of 8,333 jobs from 1999 (or an annual growth rate of 1.6%). In the same time period, the metro region gained over 28,000 jobs and grew at an annual rate of 2.5%. 

Table A:  Private Sector Covered Employment

	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	Jun 05 (p)
Manatee Co	99,116	108,471	106,858	94,642*	101,852	107,449	110,977
Sarasota Co	120,499	127,817	135,242	144,527	133,649	140,738	142,634
Sarasota Bradenton	219,615	236,288	242,100	239,169	235,501	248,187	253,611
Florida	5,893,475	6,084,319	6,153,547	6,149,892	6,213,122	6,423,693	6,692,877

 Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

* Changes were made in employment services reporting that affected total employment numbers

 

Employment Services (Professional Employer Organization Firms)

The county’s large base of employment services firms has impacted the total employment data reported to state and federal sources. Between 1999 and 2004, changes occurred in the reporting format of this industry sector, altering the number of PEO related jobs and the overall employment for Manatee County. Table B illustrates the changes in PEO reporting during this time period. 

Table B: Regional Reporting of NAICS 5613, Employment Services (PEO Firms)

	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Manatee Co. Employment Svc	27,206	35,079	30,636	16,490	22,253	25,150
Sarasota Co. Employment Svc	6,719	10,932	15,926	21,988	10,657	11,827
MSA Employment Svc	3,5924	46,011	46,562	38,478	32,910	36,977

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

 

Due to changes in the 2001-2002 reporting of employment services or PEO firms, Manatee County’s overall growth rate in private sector jobs may be slightly underestimated or overestimated for this time period.  Therefore, to understand the job growth for all other industries, employment growth was also calculated without NAICS 5613.  Removing PEO firms from employment figures, Manatee County employment grew at a rate of 2.7% per year, similar to Sarasota County and Florida in general

 

Chart 2: County Employment Growth 1999-2004

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Detailed Job Growth By Industry

Specific employment patterns emerge when analyzing job growth by industry sector.  Growth in traded sector industries (those industries that sell goods or services outside the region) occurred in the service related sectors. These sectors include professional and technical services, financial services and the management of companies. Only a few manufacturing segments such as fabricated metal, textile and wood products gained jobs, while most manufacturing segments lost jobs.

For industries with primarily regional markets, significant job growth occurred in construction, health services and education sectors.  Administrative services (e.g. PEO firms) showed a decline in jobs, however, changes in state and federal reporting, as well as actual employment changes, may account for the significant job loss in this category.  Almost all retail, personal service and tourism establishments showed strong job gains over the period 1999-2004.

Table C ranks Manatee County industries in order of employment growth, or the number of jobs gained from 1999-2004.  The table is subdivided by traded sector industries, industries with regional markets, and industries serving local markets and tourism.

Table C: Manatee County Job Growth by Industry Sector

Traded Sector/Value-Added Industries	2004 Employment	1999 Employment	Job Change	Annual Growth
NAICS 111 Crop production	4,660	4,240	420	1.89%
NAICS 541 Professional and technical services	3,159	2,416	743	5.36%
NAICS 551 Management of companies and enterprises	1,703	1,009	694	10.47%
NAICS 522 Credit intermediation and related activities	1,310	1,060	250	4.24%
NAICS 524 Insurance carriers and related activities	837	604	233	6.52%
NAICS 488 Support activities for transportation	400	241	159	10.13%
NAICS 314 Textile product mills	362	296	66	4.03%
NAICS 332 Fabricated metal product manufacturing	1,297	1,233	64	1.01%
NAICS 321 Wood product manufacturing	178	118	60	8.22%
NAICS 512 Motion picture and sound recording industries	163	118	45	6.46%
NAICS 423 Merchant wholesalers, durable goods	1,105	1,062	43	0.79%
NAICS 511 Publishing industries, except Internet	505	469	36	1.48%
NAICS 425 Electronic markets and agents and brokers	231	221	10	0.89%
NAICS 323 Printing and related support activities	178	171	7	0.80%
NAICS 517 Telecommunications	340	367	(27)	-1.53%
NAICS 424 Merchant wholesalers, nondurable goods	1,610	1,641	(31)	-0.38%
NAICS 484 Truck transportation	404	452	(48)	-2.25%
NAICS 339 Miscellaneous manufacturing	726	834	(108)	-2.77%
NAICS 337 Furniture and related product manufacturing	619	767	(148)	-4.29%
NAICS 326 Plastics and rubber products manufacturing	311	466	(155)	-8.09%
NAICS 325 Chemical manufacturing	132	291	(159)	-15.81%
NAICS 333 Machinery manufacturing	668	845	(177)	-4.70%
NAICS 334 Computer and electronic product manufacturing	731	951	(220)	-5.26%
NAICS 335 Electrical equipment and appliance mfg.	621	910	(289)	-7.64%
NAICS 327 Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing	234	681	(447)	-21.36%
NAICS 336 Transportation equipment manufacturing	2,055	2,599	(544)	-4.70%
NAICS 311 Food manufacturing	2,092	2,886	(794)	-6.44%

 

Regional Goods & Services	2004 Employment	1999 Employment	Job Change	Annual Growth
NAICS 238 Specialty trade contractors	4,996	3,041	1,955	9.93%
NAICS 621 Ambulatory health care services	4,806	3,300	1,506	7.52%
NAICS 531 Real estate	1,586	843	743	12.64%
NAICS 237 Heavy and civil engineering construction	1,307	1,050	257	4.38%
NAICS 813 Membership associations and organizations	1,053	802	251	5.45%
NAICS 611 Educational services	484	286	198	10.52%
NAICS 221 Utilities	207	181	26	2.68%
NAICS 562 Waste management and remediation services	275	294	(19)	-1.34%
NAICS 623 Nursing and residential care facilities	2,932	3,136	(204)	-1.35%
NAICS 236 Construction of buildings	921	1,263	(342)	-6.32%
NAICS 561 Administrative and support services*	27,704	29,341	(1,637)	-1.15%

 

* Includes Employment Service Firms National Operations

Due to nondisclosure of data in 1999, NAICS 622 hospitals and primary health services were not included in Regional Goods & Services.

 

Retail, Tourism & Personal Services	2004 Employment	1999 Employment	Job Change	Annual Growth
NAICS 722 Food services and drinking places	8,074	5,626	2,448	7.23%
NAICS 453 Miscellaneous store retailers	2,497	1,600	897	8.90%
NAICS 713 Amusements, gambling, and recreation	1,793	1,055	738	10.61%
NAICS 444 Building material and garden supply stores	1,360	773	587	11.30%
NAICS 452 General merchandise stores	2,831	2,302	529	4.14%
NAICS 451 Sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores	706	419	287	10.43%
NAICS 446 Health and personal care stores	1,123	853	270	5.50%
NAICS 445 Food and beverage stores	3,024	2,857