Sarasota Economy: Upward Bound

Sarasota Economy: Upward Bound

Sarasota County's economy is improving. Wages are rising faster in Sarasota County than they are in, say, Atlanta, West Palm Beach, Tucson and Raleigh, N.C. And job growth is much faster here than it is in those regions as well.

That's the executive summary of the most recent update of Sarasota County's economic profile, prepared by the consulting firm of Scruggs & Associates LLC for the Economic Development Corp. of Sarasota County.

Released June 22 to the EDC's board members, the study contained no surprises. "There were confirmations more than surprises," says Kathy Baylis, president of the EDC. "We had a sense the economy was doing very well because we've been tracking the jobs created on a continuing basis. It was a confirmation the economy seems to be headed in the right direction."

If there were any surprises, Baylis says, it was that the Scruggs report showed Sarasota is doing better than some of the communities Scruggs compared, including Atlanta, West Palm Beach-Miami, Tucson, Raleigh, Austin and Santa Barbara, Calif. The report says Sarasota County's economy has recovered better and faster from the post 9/11 downturn than the other regions.

The complete report - a $10,000 update to a similar report in 2004 - can be found on the EDC's Web site, at www.edcsarasotacounty.com. The tables and text below, however, provide some of the details that stood out most about Sarasota's economic profile.

At a Glance

• From 2002-September 2005, the Sarasota-Bradenton metro region gained approximately 30,000 jobs. This job growth exceeded state and U.S. job growth rates.

• The average wage for Sarasota County in the third-quarter of 2005 was $35,328, or 4% below the state average.

• Sarasota County had 14,526 firms in 2005, up from 12,303 firms in 2002. Professional services, creative services, financial services, and construction and real estate experienced the largest percent gain in establishments.

• More than 32,000 county residents are self-employed. These sole proprietors have wages of more than $55,000 per year, or 20% higher than the average U.S. sole proprietor.

• In 2005, the average non-farm employment for the Sarasota-Bradenton MSA was about 300,000 jobs, with 311,000 jobs in December. Of those, 15 % were in goods-producing industries such as manufacturing and construction; 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.

• The job growth estimates for 2002-2005 indicate the region grew at a rate of 15%, far exceeding the rate of comparison regions.

• Self-employment is highly concentrated in five industry sectors: real estate, professional and technical services, business and personal services, construction, and retail. Wages for these self-employed individuals in Sarasota County was over $55,000 per year, significantly above the U.S. average of $44,500.

• About 68% of all firms in the average U.S. metro region have fewer than 20 employees represent, while this same group represents 74% of all firms in the Sarasota-Bradenton region. This indicates that the region has a higher than average proportion of very small businesses.

• The average age of Sarasota residents is 48.7. That compares to the national average of 36.2.

• The Sarasota-Bradenton MSA has one of the highest housing-wage ratio, indicating that housing is significantly less affordable to the average worker.

From 2000 to 2005, Sarasota County's population increased to 366,256, up 12.3%.

The Sarasota-Bradenton MSA has one of the highest per capita income and significantly higher than the US average and competitor regions. This high per capita income is derived from an above average share of interest and dividend income, rather than income from earnings. On average, 70% of per capita income from other metro areas is derived from earnings, while earnings account for only 50% in Sarasota County.

By the Numbers

TOP 10 INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT GROWTH

2002 2005 Diff. % Chg.

1. Chemical manufacturing 50 331 281 562.0

2. Performing arts, spectator sports 760 1,830 1,070 140.8

3. Management of companies, enterprises 266 632 366 137.6

4. Waste management, remediation 234 494 260 111.1

5. Building construction 2,066 3,590 1,524 73.8

6. Specialty contractors 8,502 12,381 3,879 45.6

7. Bldg. material, garden supply stores 1,569 2,169 600 38.2

8. Motor vehicle, parts dealers 2,775 3,658 883 31.8

9. Heavy, civil engineering construction 1,337 1,721 384 28.7

10. Real estate 2,083 2,675 592 28.4

NON-FARM JOB GROWTH, 2002-05

Sarasota-Bradenton 15%

W. Palm Beach 9.8%

Raleigh, N.C. 7.3%

Tucson, Ariz. 5.8%

Austin 5.3%

Santa Barbara 4%

Atlanta 3.8%

10 FASTEST GROWING

OCCUPATIONAL GROUPS

Ranked by increase in jobs from 2002 to 2005

2002 2005 % Chg.

1. Computer, math 2,030 4,170 105

2. Community, social services 2,150 3,290 53

3. Arts, design, entertainment, media 2,920 4,410 51

4. Business, financial operations 6,610 9,600 45

5. Healthcare support 7,220 10,120 40

6. Life, physical, social science 950 1,300 37

7. Food preparation 22,950 30,830 34

8. Construction 16,790 22,080 32

9. Farming, fishing, forestry 600 780 30

10. Building, grounds maintenance 10,060 12,900 28

HOW SARASOTA

WAGES COMPARE

Compared to other regions, the Sarasota-Bradenton region had the lowest average wage in 2002. The growth rate of wages over the past two years, however, exceeded other regions. The table below compares annual wages.

2002 2004 % Chg.

Sara.-Brad. $28,950 $32,118 10.9

Santa Barabara 34,382 37,471 9.0

Miami-WPB 35,514 38,557 8.6

Tucson 31,673 33,992 7.3

Austin 39,540 42,144 6.6

Atlanta 40,892 43,250 5.8

Raleigh 36,582 38,450 5.1

WHERE WAGES ARE RISING THE FASTEST

Ranked by hourly wage increase increase from 2002 to 2005

2002 2005 % Chg.

1. Production $9.72 $13.12 35

2. Transportation, material moving $8.77 $11.73 33.8

3. Management $33.97 $41,47 22.1

4. Community, social services $14.73 $17.85 21.2

5. Arts, design, entertainment, media $16.45 $19.88 20.9

6. Construction 413.23 $15.86 19.9

7. Computer, math 423.79 $28.51 19.8

8. Sales 414.82 $17.39 17.3

9. Healthcare practitioners, techs $24.22 $28.30 16.8

10. Protective service $14.83 $16.79 13.2

SARASOTA'S HIGH-WAGE

INDUSTRIES

The 10 highest-paying industries, based on third-quarter 2005 wage reports. Income figures are annualized.

1. Securities, investments $98,404

2. Telecommunications 77,676

3. Utilities 67,252

4. Management of companies 62,460

5. Insurance carriers 57,120

6. Credit intermediation 55,272

7. Computer, electronic mfg. 54,164

8. Ambulatory health care services 49,172

9. ISPs, portals, data processing 48,156

10. Building construction 47,096