Alabama Business
Alabama Metro Areas:
Looking Back at 2004
Job gains returned to the state’s metro
areas in 2004 following three straight
years of losses. From December 2003 to
December 2004, the 11 metro areas netted 16,810 jobs; about half of the more
than 33,300 lost in the three years from
December 2000 to December 2003.
Retail trade and services saw solid job
growth during the year. The nation’s
defense concerns contributed to professional and business service jobs. Manufacturing job losses subsided as employment in transportation equipment and
related industries picked up. And
improving finances for state and local
governments strengthened job growth.
During 2004 every metro area worked
on improvements that will contribute
to the quality of life for residents, with
emphases including downtown revitalization, convention center development,
expanding retail options, providing river
access, creating recreational opportunities, and improving infrastructure.
Going into 2005, Alabama’s metro areas
face ongoing concerns about providing a
skilled, educated workforce for jobs now
and for jobs that will be vacated in the
near future as retirements increase.
Attracting and retaining young, collegeeducated professionals is a focus for
many, as is recruiting and nurturing jobs
that will boost the income level of residents. Strong local efforts are cause for
optimism that the state’s metropolitan
areas will build on the successes of 2004
this year.
2004 Highlights
Anniston: Local economy boosted by
U.S. defense and security concerns;
Anniston Army Depot supporting Iraq
war; new and expanding auto suppliers
and jobs at nearby Honda; job gains
in trade and professional and business
services.
Auburn-Opelika: Strong manufacturing
gains, including new and expanding auto
suppliers; growing retail with TigerTown
opening and mall expansion; new
research park approved at Auburn complements other technology initiatives.
Birmingham: Growing facilities and funding for biomedical research; expanding healthcare facilities and jobs; new
and expanding auto suppliers;
suburban population, housing,
and retail growth in areas
including Pelham, Hoover,
Alabaster, and Trussville; Park
Place mixed income community complements continued loft
development in Birmingham.
Decatur: Solid gains in professional and business services;
expansion of existing manufacturers; new industry focused
on food processing and steel;
health services growth; planning underway to extend I-565
to Decatur.
Metropolitan Area Nonagricultural
Employment
Change from
December 2003
December 2004
Alabama
Anniston
Auburn-Opelika
Birmingham
Decatur
Dothan
Florence
Gadsden
Huntsville
Mobile
Montgomery
Tuscaloosa
Russell County*
1,907,200
49,700
49,100
482,500
54,800
69,700
52,000
37,600
192,500
231,800
166,600
84,300
12,280
Net Jobs in Metropolitan Areas
Net Jobs in Nonmetro Counties
Number Percent
21,100
-100
700
2,100
100
800
-200
-100
2,300
7,400
1,900
2,000
-90
1.1
-0.2
1.4
0.4
0.2
1.2
-0.4
-0.3
1.2
3.3
1.2
2.4
-0.7
16,810
4,290
Note: Metro area definitions in effect in 2000 are used.
*Russel County is part of the Columbus, GA MSA.
Source: Alabama Department of Industrial Relations.
Dothan: Manufacturing
expansions and job gains;
growing distribution center
focus; job growth in education
and health services and leisure and hospitality; developments supporting Fort
Rucker; progress made on I-10 connector.
Florence: Diminishing job losses;
expansions at area manufacturers; opening of The Shoals on Robert Trent Jones
Golf Trail boosting leisure and hospitality jobs; adjoining hotel under construction; Walgreens Health Initiative adding
to service jobs; jobs in trade up.
Gadsden: New and expanding auto suppliers as well as jobs at nearby Honda;
construction jobs up; gains in retail trade
employment; quality of life improvements including library renovation,
Noccalula Falls project, convention
center planning, and consolidated high
school.
Huntsville: Strong professional and
technical services job growth fueled by
sizeable defense industry contracts; residential and retail development in west
Huntsville and Madison; Toyota engine
plant expanding; Embassy Suites and
nearby office building under construction in downtown Huntsville.
Mobile: Successful launch of Carnival’s
Holiday from new cruise terminal; RSA
downtown Mobile development includ-
ing second hotel; coastal areas rebounding from Hurricane Ivan; shipbuilding
and aerospace industries expanding;
strong job gains in retail trade and educational and health services.
Montgomery: Hyundai and at least
11 area suppliers completed plants and
hired workers toward spring 2005 production start-up; job gains in services;
residential and retail growth in east
Montgomery and Prattville; successful
Biscuits inaugural season and continued
downtown development including RSAbacked convention center and hotel.
Tuscaloosa: Second Mercedes plant
completed and about 1,400 workers
added toward launch of new models
early in 2005; new and expanding
Mercedes suppliers; strong retail job
gains; residential and neighborhood
retail growth in Tuscaloosa and Northport; ongoing riverfront development.
A report on developments in 2004 for
each of Alabama’s 11 metro areas is
included in the Alabama Economic
Outlook 2005 publication.
Carolyn Trent
[email protected]
Alabama Business
Redefining Alabama’s
Metropolitan Areas
Metropolitan area definitions are revisited by the U.S. Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) following a decennial census. The term “core based statistical area” was adopted in 2000 to encompass metropolitan statistical areas and the
newly-created micropolitan statistical
areas (see Alabama Business, Fourth
Quarter 2004). To be considered metropolitan, an area must encompass at least
one urbanized area of 50,000 or more
inhabitants. OMB continues to use
county geographies as building blocks,
but now relies solely on commuting patterns for designating outlying county
members. If 25 percent or more of the
workers in an outlying county commute
into a central metro county to work, that
county is included in the metropolitan
statistical area (MSA). This departure
from earlier guidelines that required
“metropolitan character” renders the
designation more objective, but results
in the addition of some very “rural”
counties to several of Alabama’s 11
MSAs. Dothan added Geneva and
Henry counties (while dropping Dale),
and Lowndes County was added to the
Montgomery MSA, while both Hale and
Greene joined the Tuscaloosa metro area.
And predominately rural Bibb, Chilton,
and Walker counties became part of the
Birmingham-Hoover MSA, which
already included largely rural Blount
and St. Clair counties.
Although membership of predominately rural Alabama
counties in its metro areas is
not a new concept, the inclusion of some of the state’s most
economically depressed counties is. Greene, Hale, and
Lowndes ranked in the bottom
10 of the state’s 67 counties on
both poverty and per capita
income in 2002. Bibb
County’s per capita income
was also in the lowest group.
While being part of a metropolitan area is indicative of
where a segment of the population works, it is not in and of
itself an economic remedy. In
December 2004, unemployment rates in Greene, Hale,
and Lowndes were among the
10 highest in the state.
However, strengthening ties
from a common designation
can only help improve the
opportunities for residents of
these new metro counties.
Metropolitan Area Wages and Income
Average Wage
Per Capita
Most federal and state statistics
per Job 2003 Income 2002
will begin using the revised metroUnited States
$37,130
$30,906
politan statistical area definitions
Alabama
31,548
25,548
this year. Tables on this page are
Anniston-Oxford
28,366
23,504
based on these designations. With
Auburn-Opelika
26,679
21,445
the addition of three counties, the
Birmingham-Hoover
35,979
30,661
Birmingham-Hoover MSA encom- Decatur
30,905
24,884
passed 23.9 percent of Alabama’s
Dothan
27,922
25,462
population in 2003, up from 21
Florence-Muscle Shoals
27,255
22,769
percent under its previous bound- Gadsden
26,841
22,999
Huntsville
39,261
28,959
aries. In terms of economic data,
30,453
22,620
the Tuscaloosa Mobile
Montgomery
31,980
27,533
metro area in
Population of Alabama Metropolitan Areas
Tuscaloosa
30,317
25,152
particular will
2000
2003 Change 2000-2003
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of
see a negative
Census Estimate Number Percent
Economic Analysis.
impact on its
Alabama
4,447,100 4,486,508
39,408
0.9
numbers—while
Anniston-Oxford
112,249
112,012
-237
-0.2
per capita income for Mobile County’s wage per job of
Auburn-Opelika
115,092
119,561
4,469
3.9
$30,453 in 2003 was above Baldwin
Tuscaloosa County
Birmingham-Hoover 1,052,238 1,072,646
20,408
1.9
County’s $24,986. However, per capita
alone was $26,339 in
Decatur
145,867
147,204
1,337
0.9
income for the Mobile MSA will drop
2002,
per
capita
Dothan
130,861
133,336
2,475
1.9
since Mobile County’s per capita income
income
for
the
metro
Florence-Muscle Shoals 142,950
141,499
-1,451
-1.0
of $22,620 in 2002 was well below
area amounted to
Gadsden
103,459
103,035
-424
-0.4
Baldwin County’s $27,224. Statistical
$25,152. Removing
Huntsville
342,376
357,907
15,531
4.5
data users need to be cautious about
Mobile
399,843
399,747
-96
0.0
rapidly growing
Montgomery
346,528
352,536
6,008
1.7
having consistent metropolitan area
Baldwin County
Tuscaloosa
192,034
194,645
2,611
1.4
definitions when making comparisons,
from the Mobile
Russell County*
49,756
48,986
-770
-1.5
particularly until revised historical data
MSA resulted in a
series are released.
Note: Based on new metropolitan area definitions released
sharp decrease in
by OMB in February 2004.
population but a
* Russell County is part of the Columbus, GA MSA.
Carolyn Trent
higher metro area
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Branch.
[email protected]
average wage, as