State Of The City of Greensboro 2012

While investigating the Greensboro Partnership I think it important that we look at the facts:

"THE OVERALL ‘STATE OF THE CITY’ IS LESS THAN ROBUST
• Greensboro continues to struggle with the ongoing ramifications of the national recession particularly regarding the region’s significant job losses and high

MEDIAN EARNINGS AND PER CAPITA INCOME DECLINEDMARKEDLY
• Although median earnings in Greensboro increased significantly from 2008 to 2009, this was not the case in 2010. Compared to the largest cities in North Carolina, Greensboro experienced the most substantive decline (-8.6%) in median earnings going from $26,205 in 2009 to $23,953 in 2010. By contrast, median earnings increased in Winston Salem (+3.7%) and Charlotte (+2.6%).

• Per capita income levels continued a three-year decline from a high of $25,560 in 2008 to $23,832 in 2010. Unlike earnings, per capita income includes more than just wages and salaries since it also includes income derived from interest, dividend, rent and transfer payments. The substantive decline in dividend investment capital due to the financial crisis and national recession of the late 2000s may have negatively impacted per capita income. From 2009 to 2010, Greensboro experienced the second most significant decline in per capita income relative to Charlotte (-7.6%), Durham (-2.5%), Raleigh (-2.5%), and Winston Salem (+3.6%).

EDUCATION AND HEALTH SERVICES CONTINUE TO EXPAND AND ACCOUNT FOR ONE-QUARTER OF ALL JOBS IN GREENSBORO BUT AVERAGE WAGES ARE STAGNANT
• Education and health services continue to be major industries in the local economy accounting for over one-quarter of all jobs in Greensboro. The overall market share of education and health services increased noticeably from 21.2% in 2008 to 25.2% in 2010. The downside of this growth is that average wage rates have been stagnant since 2008 with the lowest net gains of any industry.

TRANSPORTATION LOGISTICS CONTINUES TO LOSE MARKET SHARE BUT AVERAGE WAGE RATES NOTICEABLY INCREASED
• Despite the recent successes regarding companies like HondaJet and FedEx Ground, the transportation-related industry continues to lose market share in terms of the percentage of jobs generated. From 2009 to 2010, transportation employment share dropped from 4.8% to 3.4%, part of a three year downward trend. On the other hand, average wage rates increased 2.6% from $42,968 to $44,103 over the same time period – the third highest increase of any industry.

TAX BASE GROWTH IS FLAT
• Partly as a result of the 2008/9 recession and related fiscal crisis, growth in the Guilford County tax base was stagnant increasing a modest 0.5% from $36.6 billion in 2009/10 to $36.8 billion in 2010/11.

POVERTY RATES REMAIN HIGH
• The percentage of the city population in poverty remains high and largely unchanged, increasing slightly from 20.0% in 2009 to 20.1% in 2010 meaning one in five Greensboro residents were in poverty. (Note: for a family of four with two children under the age of 18, the household is considered poor if total household income is below $22,113 in 2010.)

RESIDENTIAL SPRAWL INDICATORS
• Recent sprawl studies have indicated that Greensboro and the Piedmont Triad metropolitan area have some of the most sprawling growth patterns in the United States.

HOME OWNERSHIP AND VALUE
• A high percentage of home ownership illustrates a propensity for residential stability in a community and signals a vote of confidence in the overall quality of life of the area. If a large proportion of the population opts to invest in the real estate market instead of renting, it implies a long-term commitment to the community.

• Homeownership in Greensboro decreased from 54.1% of the housing stock in owner-occupied units in 2009 to 53.4% in 2010 – a decline of 0.7 percentage points. The recent recession is likely a major causal factor particularly given the gradual rise in the percent owner-occupied from 2005 through 2008.

MEDIAN EARNINGS
• Median earnings are an excellent measure of the overall skill level of the community and the quality of jobs being created in an area. Earnings are defined as the sum of wage and salary disbursements and are often used as a proxy for income generated specifically from participation in production.

• Overall median earnings in Greensboro declined significantly (-8.6%) from $26,205 in 2009 to $23,953 in 2010 – the lowest median earnings since the American Community Survey began reporting Greensboro data back in 2005. From 2009 to 2010, Greensboro experienced the most significant decline in median earnings relative to Raleigh (-4.7%), Durham (-1.3%), Charlotte (+2.6%), and Winston-Salem (+3.7%).

PER CAPITA INCOME
• Per capita income is an excellent measure of the overall accumulation of wealth although it is not a direct measure of wages and salaries because it also includes income derived from such things as interest, dividend, rent and transfer payments.

• Unlike with median earnings, Greensboro experienced a less precipitous decline in per capita income although income levels still dropped noticeably from $24,982 in 2009 to $23,832 in 2009 – a 4.6% decline. From 2009 to 2010, Greensboro experienced the second most significant decline in per capita income relative to Charlotte (-7.6%), Durham (-2.5%), Raleigh (-2.5%), and Winston Salem (+3.6%).

JOBS: LABOR FORCE COMPOSITION BY INDUSTRY
• An important part of any city economy is the arts and entertainment/accommodation and food industry particularly in downtown areas which tend to act as important focal points for the industry. However, Greensboro’s share in this industry decreased from 12.8% of all jobs in 2009 to 12.5% in 2010. Although the Greensboro city center has recently experienced a rebirth of sorts – particularly the nightclubs and bars along South Elm Street – more could be done to attract young urban professionals to the city.

• It is clear that the transportation logistics and warehousing industry has the potential to become a major player in the Greensboro economy particularly with the opening of the mid-Atlantic FedEx hub in 2009 at Piedmont Triad International Airport. However, given the economic slowdown, it is perhaps not surprising that the percentage of all jobs in this industry noticeably decreased from a 4.8% share of the market in 2009 to 3.4% in 2010. More disconcertingly, this represents the second largest relative decline of any industry in Greensboro for the same time period.

POVERTY RATE
• The Greensboro poverty rate increased slightly between 2009 and 2010 going from 20.0% to 20.1% of the population.

THE OVERALL ‘STATE OF THE CITY’ IS LESS THAN ROBUST
• Greensboro continues to struggle with the ongoing ramifications of the national recession particularly regarding the region’s significant job losses and high poverty rate.

MEDIAN EARNINGS AND PER CAPITA INCOME DECLINED MARKEDLY
• Although median earnings in Greensboro increased significantly from 2008 to 2009, this was not the case in 2010. Compared to the largest cities in North Carolina, Greensboro experienced the most substantive decline (-8.6%) in median earnings going from $26,205 in 2009 to $23,953 in 2010. By contrast, median earnings increased in Winston Salem (+3.7%) and Charlotte (+2.6%).

• Per capita income levels continued a three-year decline from a high of $25,560 in 2008 to $23,832 in 2010. Unlike earnings, per capita income includes more than just wages and salaries since it also includes income derived from interest, dividend, rent and transfer payments. The substantive decline in dividend investment capital due to the financial crisis and national recession of the late 2000s may have negatively impacted per capita income. From 2009 to 2010, Greensboro experienced the second most significant decline in per capita income relative to Charlotte (-7.6%), Durham (-2.5%), Raleigh (-2.5%), and Winston Salem (+3.6%)."

Source: 2012 STATE OF THE CITY REPORT: GREENSBORO, NC. by DR. KEITH G. DEBBAGE PROFESSOR OF URBAN GEOGRAPHY UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO and The Greensboro Partnership.

No, not all the news is bad, just most of it.

Continue to page 6. Action Greensboro Board Of Directors.