THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 18, 1996 TAG: 9607180470
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MYLENE MANGALINDAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 48 lines
Hampton Roads residents earn less than the rest of the country, particularly communities such as Baltimore, Richmond and Charlotte.
Why? Because Hampton Roads' working population is shrinking. And the pay for those who do work isn't keeping pace with cities of similar size.
That's the conclusion of the latest study on per capita income presented Wednesday by the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission.
``Our economy right now is in a modest slowdown,'' said John W. Whaley, director of economic services at the commission. ``Hampton Roads is a community that continues to be under stress,'' he said, because it is experiencing slow growth in jobs, income and earnings per worker.
Commission members had expressed interest in finding out why the region was falling behind other areas. Whaley's report is one of a series of studies aimed at answering that question. It will also be used to help Hampton Roads cities correct the trend.
Hampton Roads' low cost of doing business has been hampered, even overshadowed, by its slow-growing mixture of industries. Basically, the region's economic base is not as diversified - or rich with high growth companies - as many other cities. That depresses wages.
Nashville's per capita income, for example, rose $4,000 from 1983 to 1994. It led cities in the Southeast region. Hampton Roads income went up more than $1,000, a modest increase in comparison. The average wage per worker in the region would have to increase by $5,000 for Hampton Roads' income to match the national average.
``While we're increasing incomes, we're increasing at a slower and slower pace,'' Whaley said. ``Raising incomes is not easy to do.''
Fewer people in the region are working, further dragging down the region's per capita income.
The region creates about 4,000 jobs each year. But it must create more than 7,000 jobs annually to register some growth, Whaley said.
The number of workers in the economy has been declining from peak levels. In 1969, 505 workers supported every 1,000 area residents. That number of workers rose to 582 in 1988. But it dropped to 559 workers supporting every 1,000 residents in 1994.
That trend will continue. As baby boomers age, fewer people will be working to support the entire population. by CNB