Alabama
Metropolitan
Areas
As 2009 unfolded and the economic well-being of
Alabama’s citizens and businesses fell, it might have been
preferable to fast forward over the recession that gripped
the state to better times that should be on the horizon later
in 2010. But then we would have missed all the groundwork that was laid during the year—the economic development, capacity and infrastructure building, workforce
training, and process improvement—that will increase
the competitiveness of our existing industry and help us
respond quickly and successfully to new opportunities. And
we would have missed the successes, particularly in the
healthcare sector. Every part of the state faced hardship—
while the 11 metro areas shed 50,700 jobs (-3.3 percent)
during the 12 months ending in October, the 41 nonmetro
counties lost 44,900 (-9.6 percent)—but all will emerge
stronger as the recovery takes hold.
Anniston-Oxford
Stability in national defense-related
activity and health services was not
enough to keep the Anniston-Oxford
area economy from continuing to slip
in 2009. Job declines took hold in the
metro relatively early in the recession,
with nonagricultural employment below year-ago levels
since January 2008 (with the exception of June 2008). At
51,100 in October 2009, payroll jobs in the area were down
1,800 (-3.4 percent) from a year ago. Manufacturing saw
the steepest decline during the year, losing 600 positions,
while state and local government shed 400. Educational
and health services added 100 jobs and federal government
employment was flat.
Workers who commuted outside the area were hit harder,
with total employment dropping by about 4,250 (-8.3
percent) between October 2008 and October 2009.
Challenging conditions for the auto industry negatively
impacted employment of area residents at Honda and
nearby suppliers. During this same period, AnnistonOxford’s labor force contracted by just 3.1 percent and
unemployment soared to 11.2 percent, highest among the
11 metros. Still, the economy of the Anniston-Oxford metro
has been growing at a faster pace than the state since
2001. The area’s current dollar GDP (total output of goods
and services) climbed 61.8 percent from 2001 to 2008, with
an above-average gain of 4.5 percent in 2008 ranking fourth
among the state’s metros. Government plays an important
18
Alabama Metropolitan Areas
role in the Anniston-Oxford economy—28.2 percent of area
GDP was generated by this sector in 2008 versus 16.3
percent for the state; government has been the most rapidly
growing output sector since 2001.
Manufacturing accounted for a slightly above average 13.5
percent of jobs in the Anniston-Oxford metro in October
2009, far below its 19.3 percent share 10 years ago.
Anniston Sportswear closed its doors in August, with the
loss of 160 jobs, and the Hager Hinge facility in Oxford shut
down in late October, claiming 93 positions. Ashland’s
Wellborn Cabinet laid off another 200 workers in January
to bring total layoffs since January 2008 to 440, as the
company continued to position its product lines and services
for a turnaround in the housing industry. Federal government contract work balanced job cuts and additions during
the year—BAE Systems reported layoffs of 130 employees
in February and about 140 at the end of November and
SAIC cut 90 in late April. But BAE also received several
contract awards during 2009 and General Dynamics
planned to hire up to 100 for a new contract late in the year.
North American Bus Industries, which added 100 workers in
2008, saw strong orders for its products during the year.
New auto supplier Industry Products will open in the
county’s spec building in January 2010 and begin supplying
parts to Honda with about 25 workers by the summer.
Leggett and Platt subsidiary Garcy leased a large section of
warehouse space at the former Springs Global facility in
Piedmont.
Ongoing investment at the Anniston Army Depot is
supporting its role as a mainstay of the Anniston-Oxford
economy, with about 7,300 employees and contractors.
Work is continuing on a $26 million wastewater treatment
plant that will be complete in 2011. The $85 million
Powertrain Flexible Maintenance Facility opened in August,
while the Depot broke ground this fall for a new Small Arms
Repair Facility. Work began in December on a $7.5 million
contract with the Research Triangle Institute to produce M1
tank training devices. National security-related activity is a
primary focus of the former Fort McClellan, while servicerelated activity is growing. Alagasco will relocate its
operations center to McClellan in 2010 and the Coosa
Valley Resource Conservation and Development Council
has plans to move and develop facilities there. Ordnance
clean-up was completed in the vicinity of the industrial
access road that will connect McClellan to the new Eastern
Parkway, opening the way for further industrial and
commercial development.
Anniston’s role in providing medical services in East
Alabama was enhanced with the award of Level 2 trauma
designation to Regional Medical Center. The retail scene
was challenged by the closing of Goody’s Family Clothing,
Circuit City, and Food Max stores, as well as several
restaurants. Walgreens opened in Jacksonville and
Anniston during the year and a Sam’s Club under construction at the Oxford Exchange will open in 2010. A new
$2.5 million business center in Alexandria is home to both
service and retail businesses. Hotels opening during the
year included a Hilton Garden Inn in Oxford and a Hampton
Inn in Jacksonville. Looking to expand retail and commercial development, the Anniston City Council voted to
establish a Commercial Development Authority similar to
Oxford’s CDA.
Nonagricultural Employment
Total
October
2009
Alabama
Anniston-Oxford
Auburn-Opelika
Birmingham-Hoover
Decatur
Dothan
Florence-Muscle Shoals
Gadsden
Huntsville
Mobile
Montgomery
Tuscaloosa
1,902,900
51,100
53,100
507,800
55,300
60,100
54,800
37,500
210,000
180,400
173,900
95,900
Net Jobs in Metropolitan Areas
Net Jobs in Nonmetro Counties
Change from
October 2008
Number
Percent
-95,600
-1,800
-2,600
-20,100
-3,200
-1,900
-2,100
-500
-4,700
-4,600
-6,000
-3,200
-4.8
-3.4
-4.7
-3.8
-5.5
-3.1
-3.7
-1.3
-2.2
-2.5
-3.3
-3.2
-50,700
-44,900
Note: Nonagricultural employment (jobs) is by place of work.
Source: Alabama Department of Industrial Relations.
Manufacturing
Alabama
Anniston-Oxford
Auburn-Opelika
Birmingham-Hoover
Decatur
Dothan
Florence-Muscle Shoals
Gadsden
Huntsville
Mobile
Montgomery
Tuscaloosa
October
2009
Change from
October 2008
Percent of
Area Jobs
248,600
6,900
5,900
38,500
12,100
6,200
7,200
4,800
28,300
15,600
17,400
14,000
-33,200
-600
-800
-3,600
-1,400
-700
-500
-400
-3,100
-900
-1,700
-1,200
13.1
13.5
11.1
7.6
21.9
10.3
13.1
12.8
13.5
8.6
10.0
14.6
400
100
-600
-200
With the help of federal stimulus funding, construction on
the final section of the Eastern Parkway that will connect
McClellan to I-20 kicked off in October. The AnnistonOxford area could also benefit from a proposal to use
stimulus funds for a high-speed rail corridor linking
Source: Alabama Department of Industrial Relations.
Birmingham and Atlanta. A number of local renovation
projects on historic buildings progressed
during the year. Construction of a new
Services Employment
water treatment plant in Oxford got
Change from October 2008
underway and work began on Oxford’s
October
Professional
Educational Leisure and
$13 million sports complex. Tourism
2009
Total and Business
and Health
Hospitality
and events related to cycling and the
Alabama
674,000
-18,100
-16,100
6,300
-5,400
Chief Ladiga Trail provided a boost to
Anniston-Oxford
17,200
-300
-200
100
-200
the area’s economy, with the trail
Auburn-Opelika
15,500
-600
-400
100
-200
receiving recognition in National
Birmingham-Hoover
193,300
-6,200
-4,400
-600
-600
Geographic Adventure as a best
Decatur
18,100
-200
-200
100
-100
Dothan
20,900
-500
-300
100
-200
weekend trip. Both Anniston and
-500
-400
100
0
Jacksonville are exploring extending the Florence-Muscle Shoals 18,100
Gadsden
15,900
-200
-200
100
-100
trail, which currently ends in Piedmont,
Huntsville
89,100
-900
-1,400
900
-200
into their downtown areas.
Mobile
71,400
-700
-600
800
-400
Anniston-Oxford’s banking sector grew
slightly for the year ending in June
2009, with an increase in deposits of
2.3 percent well below the state-
Montgomery
Tuscaloosa
62,900
28,600
-1,500
-600
-1,000
-300
Source: Alabama Department of Industrial Relations.
Alabama Metropolitan Areas
19
average 9.0 percent. The number of insured banks was
unchanged at 11 and branches rose by one to 36. Both
2008 per capita income and FY2009 median family income
increased faster than the Alabama average, but still ranked
in the lower half of the metro areas. Average wages across
all industries amounted to $33,760 in 2008, about 93 percent of the state’s $36,170. The area added an estimated
563 residents in 2008. Although the single-family housing
sector continued to contract during the first 10 months of
2009, the number of permits issued for multi-family units
increased. Permits for single-family homes fell 23.3 percent
through October 2009 when compared to the same period in
2008, while the number of homes sold dropped by 18.2
percent. The metro’s FHFA House Price Index was up 0.5
percent year-over-year in third quarter 2009.
Auburn-Opelika
Plant closings dealt Auburn-Opelika’s
manufacturing sector a serious blow,
with a total of around 1,200 jobs lost
at BFGoodrich in Opelika and Pace
Industries in Auburn during the second
half of 2009, adding to the year-overyear monthly decline in nonagricultural jobs that has
persisted since April 2008 (except for October 2008).
Payroll jobs totaled 53,900 in October 2009, down 2,600
(-4.7 percent) from a year ago. Manufacturing saw the
largest cut, losing 800 jobs during the year; professional and
business services and state and local government each
shed 400. Educational and health services added 100
positions, while jobs in the federal government and financial
sectors were unchanged.
The metro’s labor force contracted by an above-average 4.9
percent between October 2008 and October 2009 while total
employment of area residents dropped 9.0 percent, slightly
more than the state’s 8.6 percent decline. Unemployment
climbed to 8.8 percent in October, the second lowest rate
across the 11 metro areas. About 2,700 residents commuted to jobs outside the area. GDP has grown faster in
the Auburn-Opelika metro than in the state since 2001,
with an increase of 61.9 percent compared to Alabama’s
43.3 percent. A 4.6 percent gain in the value of goods and
services produced in the area in 2008 ranked third among
the metros. The important role of Auburn University is
evidenced by a 28.3 percent share of GDP generated by
the government sector, the highest in the state. While
wholesale trade was the most rapidly growing output sector
between 2001 and 2008, government was second with an
increase of over 65 percent.
Manufacturing accounted for 11.1 percent of payroll jobs in
the Auburn-Opelika area in October 2009, less than the
state average of 13.1 percent. At 21.6 percent, the share of
output generated by goods producing industries was 3.3
percentage points below the state’s. Auto suppliers, which
have become an integral part of the manufacturing sector,
20
Alabama Metropolitan Areas
have seen both new additions and expansions over the last
two years, spurred in part by a strategic location between
Hyundai in Montgomery and the new Kia plant in West
Point, Georgia. Kia’s first production 2011 Sorento rolled off
the line in mid-November. Expansions announced in 2009
include a $16.5 million investment at Seohan-NTN
Driveshaft USA that will generate 75 jobs, a $20 million
project at Cumberland Plastic Systems creating about 50
jobs, the addition of 20 workers at Straehle + Hess USA,
and an $11 million investment at Hanwha that could yield 25
jobs. However, tough times for the automotive industry also
led to layoffs at some area firms, including Borbet Alabama
and Mando. The area’s manufacturing sector was dealt a
huge blow with the closing of Opelika’s BFGoodrich tire
plant. The 400 employees who worked their final day at the
plant on October 30 were the last of more than 1,000
workers employed when the closing was announced in April.
About two-thirds were residents of the Auburn-Opelika
metro. BFGoodrich parent Michelin set up a development
program to issue loans to small businesses in the area to
spur job growth.
2008 brought a number of new auto suppliers to the metro
area, including HANA Factory Automation, promising 40
jobs; Kull Die Casting Technology NA; Selzer Automotive,
with a $22 million investment and 80 positions; SMI Auto
USA, spending $3 million and hiring 33; and Stratford Plastic
Components, putting $34 million into a plant that will employ
65. Six supplier firms announced expansions in 2008, the
largest being an investment of $25 million at Mando America
that could create 200 jobs; Hanwha’s $15 million project
with 46 jobs; and a $5.4 million investment at Pyongsan
America generating 90 positions. Hoerbiger Automotive
Comfort Systems, Aluminum Technology Schmid NA, and
Cumberland Plastics Systems also expanded during the
year.
Other manufacturing expansions announced in 2009 include
Matrix Wire, which hired more than 20; Donaldson Company, investing $3.5 million and hiring 25 in 2010; and
Briggs & Stratton, consolidating product lines in Auburn and
adding jobs in FY2010. The Auburn-Opelika area received
national recognition for its business climate and economy
during 2009: Forbes ranked Auburn the #1 small metro in
projected job growth and the #10 Best Small Place for
Business and Careers; BusinessWeek cited Auburn as the
best city for starting up a business in Alabama and one of
the top 10 strongest building markets in the United States;
and CNNMoney.com listed Auburn-Opelika #16 Best Small
Place to Launch a Business.
Auburn University provides stability for the Auburn-Opelika
economy. Enrollment was up slightly to 24,602 in Fall 2009.
Construction was underway on more than 200 projects on
campus during the year, including a new basketball arena
and Phase II of the Shelby Center for Engineering Technology; a new student center and residential community
opened in the fall. A research award furthered the relationship between Northrop Grumman and the College of
Engineering in the information technology area. Grant
funding from the National Institute of Standards and
Technology will go toward building a science and commerce center at Auburn Research Park.
Labor Force
In retail development, construction progressed on Auburn’s
first Publix-anchored shopping center that should open in
May 2010. A 12-screen Carmike Cinemas at Capps
Landing in Opelika is slated for fall 2010. Auburn annexed
the West Pace development; West Pace received approval
for a Planned Development District and expects to add
restaurants to the current auto mall in 2010. However,
plans for the Celebrate Alabama shopping and entertainment district were put on hold. Lee County is one of three
Alabama counties included in planning for the massive
influx of jobs and people by 2011 as nearby Ft. Benning in
Georgia expands with BRAC. Expectations for population
growth in the Smiths Station area have a new high school
under construction and planning for a new elementary
underway. Population in the Auburn-Opelika metro rose
1.9 percent (1,700 residents) for the second highest gain
of the 11 metro areas. The area’s quality of life earned it
a place on the U.S. News & World Report 2009 list of 10
best places to live and a listing as a top place to retire by
Where to Retire. Opelika’s new Sportsplex and Aquatic
Center opened in the fall.
Alabama
Anniston-Oxford
Auburn-Opelika
Birmingham-Hoover
Decatur
Dothan
Florence-Muscle Shoals
Gadsden
Huntsville
Mobile
Montgomery
Tuscaloosa
Auburn-Opelika’s banking sector grew modestly during the
year ending June 30, with a 5.3 percent increase in deposits
in FDIC-insured institutions (compared to 9.0 percent for the
state). The number of banks was unchanged at 16 and the
number of branches fell by one to 40. Per capita income
increased at a state-average 2.7 percent in 2008, but
ranked last among the metro areas at $27,601 due to the
impact of a large student population. While median family
income fell 2.9 percent in FY2009, the area’s $59,900
ranked as third highest. Average wages across all industries amounted to $33,130 or 91.6 percent of the Alabama
average. Building permits for single-family homes fell
almost 19 percent to 540 for the first 10 months of 2009
compared to the same period in 2008, while home sales
dropped 16.0 percent. However, multi-family units permitted
jumped from just 58 through October 2008 to 556 through
October 2009. Prices based on the FHFA House Price
Index declined 1.5 percent year-over-year in the third
quarter.
Civilian Labor Force
October
2009
2,090,364
52,789
62,080
510,621
70,121
62,703
66,028
44,338
197,614
182,929
165,367
95,774
Change from
October 2008
Number
Percent
-73,590
-1,681
-3,201
-18,864
-2,382
-2,185
-1,998
-1,041
-6,667
-3,339
-6,681
-3,067
-3.4
-3.1
-4.9
-3.6
-3.3
-3.4
-2.9
-2.3
-3.3
-1.8
-3.9
-3.1
Source: Alabama Department of Industrial Relations.
Total Employment
October
2009
Alabama
Anniston-Oxford
Auburn-Opelika
Birmingham-Hoover
Decatur
Dothan
Florence-Muscle Shoals
Gadsden
Huntsville
Mobile
Montgomery
Tuscaloosa
1,867,085
46,856
56,625
460,221
62,411
56,889
58,857
39,665
182,008
162,727
148,796
86,821
Change from
October 2008
Number
Percent
-176,475
-4,253
-5,571
-43,369
-6,411
-4,688
-5,419
-3,046
-14,036
-13,150
-13,194
-7,519
-8.6
-8.3
-9.0
-8.6
-9.3
-7.6
-8.4
-7.1
-7.2
-7.5
-8.1
-8.0
Note: Total employment is by place of residence.
Source: Alabama Department of Industrial Relations.
Birmingham-Hoover
Alabama’s economic center fell on hard
times earlier than most of the state;
monthly nonagricultural employment in
the Birmingham-Hoover metro has
consistently been below year-ago levels
since January 2008. Increasing diversification did not prevent the area from losing a total of
20,100 jobs between October 2008 and October 2009,
Alabama Metropolitan Areas
21
a 3.8 percent decline that was the third highest metro area
loss and reduced the total to 507,800. Service providing
businesses shed 13,200 workers (-2.9 percent) and goods
producing industries cut 6,900 (-8.9 percent). The sizeable
professional and business services sector, usually a source
of stability, was seriously impacted by the current recession,
losing 4,400 jobs during the year, including 2,500 in professional, scientific, and technical services and 1,900 on the
administrative and support side. Pullbacks in consumer
spending cost the metro 3,100 jobs in retail and 1,700 at
food services and drinking places. Construction employment slid by 3,200 during the 12 months ending in October
and manufacturing jobs dropped by 3,600, including 2,800
in durable goods industries. Ambulatory healthcare was the
only growth sector, adding 500 jobs.
The seven-county Birmingham-Hoover area is a net
importer of workers, providing almost 47,600 more jobs than
employed residents in October 2009. Total employment fell
8.6 percent during the prior 12 months while the labor force
contracted by just 3.6 percent; unemployment reached 9.9
percent compared to 4.9 percent a year earlier. The metro
dominates the state’s economy, accounting for 31.9 percent
of Alabama GDP in 2008. This is down slightly from a 32.5
percent share in 2007, largely due to strong growth in the
Huntsville metro economy. Area GDP gains of 2.3 percent
in 2008 and 35.5 percent between 2001 and 2008 have
failed to keep pace with growth in Alabama GDP. Service
providing businesses dominate the Birmingham-Hoover
economy, contributing a metro area-high 71.0 percent of
output during 2008. Goods producing industries accounted
for 18.2 percent of the total value of goods and services
produced—the second lowest share among the metros.
Manufacturing accounted for just 7.6 percent of
Birmingham-Hoover nonagricultural jobs in October 2009
and 9.7 percent of 2008 GDP. Tough times for auto manufacturers negatively impacted the economic well-being of the
many metro residents who commute out of the area to jobs
with Honda and Mercedes-Benz. Auto supplier jobs could
grow by about 400 over the next four years as Kamtek
completes a $310 million expansion and adds work for
Volkswagen. The steel industry was hurt by slumping
demand that resulted in extended layoffs for about threequarters of the 1,700 workers at U.S. Steel’s Fairfield
Works pipe plant during the year; fees levied by the U.S.
Commerce Department on unfairly subsidized Chinese
imports will benefit the plant and the company moved ahead
with a $12 million project to upgrade the factory’s blast
furnace. Posco’s new $17 million steel processing plant in
Birmingham could create 60 jobs late in 2010. Boatright is
investing in two railroad tie producing facilities, including a
$40 million plant in Clanton that will employ 60 and a $25
million Carbon Hill operation that will create 40 jobs in
Walker County. Red Diamond officially opened its Moody
headquarters and plant in April; St. Clair County will also
see an expansion at Pell City’s Benjamin Moore factory that
22
Alabama Metropolitan Areas
should add 40 jobs. Birmingham will soon be home to
Green Solar Manufacturing, which is investing $11 million
and hiring about 150 as it establishes its headquarters
there. And Walter Energy moved its corporate headquarters
from Tampa to the Galleria Office Tower in Hoover in
December.
Other area manufacturers fell on hard times during the past
year. Bankrupt Meadowcraft was forced to liquidate its
assets. A bid by House Hasson Hardware for Pelhambased Moore-Handley would retain only employees in
inventory sales. Konecranes shuttered its Birmingham
operation late in 2009; Altec Industries’ closing cost the area
70 jobs. Birmingham’s printing and publishing businesses
had a tough time as Time Inc. continued to cut operations at
Southern Progress and in August closed Southern Accents;
more than 170 workers were let go during the year. AT&T
announced plans to close its Stephens Graphics phonebook
printing plant, idling 208. And Dewberry Engraving halted
production at its Birmingham plant.
There were positive developments in warehousing and
distribution, although a bulk distribution vacancy rate of
about 20 percent was reported at the end of the third
quarter. Home Depot opened its $33 million distribution
facility in McCalla, with 179 employees. Daniel Payne
Industrial Park in north Birmingham continued to expand—
new facilities for M&A Supply, Old Dominion Freight Lines,
Conklin Metals, and Flowers Baking Company represent
investment of $13.7 million and around 120 jobs. EGS
Commercial Real Estate completed an $8 million spec
warehouse and distribution center in Shelby West
Commerce Center in the spring, while Sparta Logistics
purchased a site in Shelby County for a $7 million
distribution facility for a healthcare company that could
create 65 jobs early in 2010. Several developments built
on Birmingham’s long history as a railroad hub. CSX
Transportation began operating its $6 million container
loading terminal in Bessemer in September, serving clients
that include the nearby Mercedes plant. Norfolk Southern
worked for much of the year on plans for a $112 million
intermodal hub in McCalla, lining up potential customers and
investing $12 million in land acquisition for the operation that
could employ 600. However, community opposition had the
project in limbo at the end of the year. A planned $193
million expansion of the Birmingham International Airport will
lengthen the runway and add a customs office and new
gates. The airport also recently purchased 25 acres and
industrial building space next to its air cargo operation.
New jobs at the adjacent Alabama Aircraft Industries are
expected to boost the firm’s employment to 1,000 in 2010.
Other service providing sectors saw activity in 2009. AT&T
established a regional headquarters in Birmingham and
hired 300 workers for a call center at the same site. Several
companies in the insurance industry added employees to
meet growing demand for annuity and other products from
increasingly risk-averse customers. However, the banking
sector, faced with a rising number of bad loans, lost 500
jobs during the year ending in October 2009. TARP funding
helped firms including Regions Financial Corporation, the
city of Birmingham’s largest private employer with about
6,000 workers. BBVA Compass cut several hundred staff in
Birmingham early in 2009 and shifted about 200 call center
jobs to Texas late in the year. Birmingham’s CapitalSouth
Bank failed in late summer; deposits and assets were
acquired by IberiaBank of Lafayette. Metro area bank
deposits grew at a strong 13.8 percent pace during the year
ended June 30, 2009 and amounted to a third of all deposits
in FDIC-insured institutions in the state. The number of
banking institutions rose by one to 51 and the number of
branches fell by nine to 353 during the previous 12 months.
Federal stimulus dollars in the form of increased grant
funding channeled through the National Institutes of Health
and the National Science Foundation helped the University
of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) maintain and even
increase sponsored research programs and staff during the
year. Ongoing research and products resulting from the
area’s biotech industry led to a number of development
agreements or funding sources during the past year for UAB
and Southern Research Institute as well as for companies
including SurModics, Viaxin, and Discovery BioMed.
Despite reductions in hospital staff, as a whole the metro’s
large health services industry was relatively stable. A
number of projects under construction will add capacity
and services during the next several years. The Jefferson
County Department continued to bring new facilities online,
completing the Eastern Health Center. Trinity Medical
Center sought approval for a $280 million relocation and
expansion from its current Montclair Road facility into the
unfinished former HealthSouth Digital Hospital in the
Cahaba Center at Grandview on U.S. 280. State health
regulators approved $72 million in renovation and expansion
planned for Princeton Baptist Medical Center. Baptist
Health Systems also broke ground on a medical office
building in Hoover. With a groundbreaking in May, Children’s Hospital got a $570 million expansion underway;
move-in is expected in mid-2012. The new facility will link
to UAB’s $140 million Womens and Infants Center that was
completed during the year. Construction got underway on
an expansion of Brookwood Hospital’s psychiatric department late in 2009. The 30-doctor Norwood Clinic is opening
in a converted grocery store building in Fultondale, following
closing of medical buildings in Norwood Plaza adjoining the
shuttered Physicians Medical Center Carraway. Federal
dollars will pay for a $62.4 million Pell City nursing facility for
the Department of Veterans Affairs. A State Health Board
ruling (any city of over 60,000 residents is allowed to have a
hospital even if the county has an excess number of beds)
clears the way for a future facility in Hoover.
Retail employment declined during 2009 due to bankruptcies, store closings, and general reductions in staff.
Gross Domestic Product
Total GDP
(Millions of Current Dollars)
2008
Alabama
Anniston-Oxford
Auburn-Opelika
Birmingham-Hoover
Decatur
Dothan
Florence-Muscle Shoals
Gadsden
Huntsville
Mobile
Montgomery
Tuscaloosa
170,014
3,918
3,559
54,274
5,256
4,423
3,919
2,601
19,274
15,074
14,699
8,106
Percent Change
2001 to 2007 to
2008
2008
43.3
61.8
61.9
35.5
46.1
37.9
45.7
35.7
63.9
43.6
40.5
62.4
Percent
of State
2008
3.3
4.5
4.6
2.3
3.0
-2.2
3.6
3.6
6.4
5.4
4.0
3.6
100.0
2.3
2.1
31.9
3.1
2.6
2.3
1.5
11.3
8.9
8.6
4.8
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
GDP Share by Broad Industry Classification 2008
(Percent of Total)
Goods
Producing
Alabama
Anniston-Oxford
Auburn-Opelika
Birmingham-Hoover
Decatur
Dothan
Florence-Muscle Shoals
Gadsden
Huntsville
Mobile
Montgomery
Tuscaloosa
24.9
23.1
21.6
18.2
53.8
18.0
25.2
22.3
20.5
22.3
18.5
34.5
Service
Providing
Government
58.8
48.8
50.1
71.0
36.0
68.0
54.1
64.9
56.0
64.2
57.9
45.6
16.3
28.2
28.3
10.7
10.2
14.0
20.7
12.9
23.6
13.5
23.6
19.8
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Space newly-vacated by companies including Bruno’s,
Goody’s, Marshall’s, Linens ‘N Things, and Circuit City
contributed to retail occupancy averaging 88.5 percent
across the Birmingham area; the Western market saw the
lowest occupancy at 82.7 percent. Sears closed its Fairfield
store late in the year, after pulling out as the last anchor at
Century Plaza mall in the summer; Century Plaza owner
General Growth Properties shuttered the mall on June 14.
Long-time area retailers, including Hunter Furniture, Forbes
Piano, and Bromberg’s, closed stores during the year;
several auto dealers also fell victim to economic conditions
and closing mandates. Bruno’s, which had seen its
Birmingham-Hoover market share fall by almost half in the
past three years, succumbed to its second Chapter 11
bankruptcy filing; 56 stores across the state were purchased
by Southern Family Markets in the spring. The company is
continuing to operate 31 stores but liquidated 25, including
12 in the Birmingham-Hoover metro area that had employed
about 800. Although the Riverchase Galleria held up fairly
well, a planned Nordstrom store was cancelled.
Alabama Metropolitan Areas
23
The year also brought new retail development as well as
groundwork for future plans. Stores opening at The Grove
in Hoover included SuperTarget, Kohl’s, Books-A-Million,
and Petco. Bessemer annexed the Colonial Promenade
Tannehill, which added stores and laid plans for second and
third phases. The Shoppes at the Colonnade also saw new
tenants and the Whole Foods-anchored Cahaba Village
shopping center completed an addition. Bayer Properties
completed an expansion of The Summit that is equally
divided between office and retail space. Pell City’s Bankhead Crossing added movie theaters and a new hotel. Auto
shopping options grew with the first Mini-Cooper dealer in
Birmingham and a dealership for the Indian Mahindra that is
slated to open soon. Aldi is building its sixth Birmingham
area grocery store in Pelham. Daniel Corp. had 35 commitments in August for the outlet mall it is preparing to build
near Bass Pro Shops in Leeds; the new mall will further
challenge Bessemer’s struggling Watermark Place. Two
developers that were responsible for significant BirminghamHoover retail development, Colonial Properties Trust and
AIG Baker, are exiting the business.
Tight financing and the effects of the recession on
businesses and consumers challenged the area’s hotel and
hospitality sector in 2009. Harbert was unable to obtain
timely financing to transform the former Regions Bank
headquarters in downtown Birmingham into a Marriott
Renaissance hotel, with Regions looking for other prospects
for the building. A Holiday Inn Express planned for the
entrepreneurial district was also on hold. However, Aloft
and Holiday Inn hotels as well as a nonmedical office
building will be coming to the Cahaba Center at Grandview
on U.S. 280; an Aloft opened in Homewood’s SoHo Square
in the spring. A number of properties were being marketed
in Birmingham’s downtown entertainment and theater
districts early in 2009; the recession has resulted in the
closing of some restaurants and art venues in that area.
While a $22 million renovation of the Sheraton Birmingham
adjacent to the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Center
(BJCC) was completed in the fall, hotels slated for The
Forge, a proposed entertainment district, were cancelled
when the developer was unable to line up financing. The
availability of only around 1,000 hotel rooms within walking
distance cost the BJCC the Gideon’s convention this year
and negatively impacts its ability to draw large groups.
Entertainment and dining options serving residents of
Birmingham’s 2nd Avenue loft district grew, including the
Rogue Tavern venue.
Although its future is still in doubt, the BJCC broke ground
on the much-debated domed stadium in July. The project is
expected to cost around $530 million for a stadium that will
seat 57,500 and includes 160,000 sq.ft. of exhibition space.
The Center paid $1.1 million for a block nearby that would
be used for parking for the facility and proposed entertainment district. Sporting events drew fans to the BirminghamHoover area during 2009, with a Davis Cup tennis
24
Alabama Metropolitan Areas
competition, the annual Magic City Classic football game,
the Regions Charity Classic golf tournament, and running,
basketball, soccer, softball, and other sports boosting
hospitality dollars by an estimated $180 million during the
year. Barber Motorsports Park added Indy Car racing to
its schedule and the Kevin Schwartz Suzuki School to its
offerings. The 45th anniversary tribute to the Ford Mustang
drew a large crowd of participants and visitors to Barber in
April.
2009 was a time of financial and political turmoil in Jefferson
County. Early in the year, the county was hit with a ruling
that struck down the occupational and business license
taxes that provided about $78 million annually. The loss of
around a quarter of the county’s operating revenue forced
layoffs and curtailment of services and employee hours as
the county tried to work out an acceptable tax plan. The
year also passed without resolution of Jefferson County’s
$3.2 billion sewer debt issue. Birmingham Mayor Larry
Langford was removed from office in the fall after conviction
on 60 federal felony counts of bribery, with the election of a
new mayor awaiting a 2010 runoff. On the positive side,
the year saw the emergence of a unified organization to
promote economic development across the metro as the
Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce, the
Metropolitan Development Board, and Region 2020 were
folded into the new Birmingham Business Alliance.
Progress was made on a number of projects that contribute
to the quality of life of Birmingham-Hoover metro area
residents. Trussville was able to purchase 1,472 acres
along the Cahaba River, previously planned for a massive
development, for parks, greenway, and water supply use.
Birmingham is moving ahead with plans for a $5 million
amphitheater at Railroad Reservation Park and for a $22
million overhaul of Fair Park. The Birmingham Housing
Authority neared completion of a $23 million project in the
Tuxedo Terrace housing community and received federal
money for renovations at Cooper Green Homes. A new
plan for an elevated portion of U.S. 280 was presented late
in the year. The seven-county metro area gained an
estimated 8,936 new residents in 2008 for a state-average
increase that brought the population total to 1,117,608. Per
capita income of $40,379 was the highest of the 11 metros
in 2008, although the increase of 2.5 percent was slightly
below the state average. Median family income grew a
stronger 3.0 percent in FY2009 and ranked second at
$60,900. Average annual wages of $38,980 in 2008 were
107.8 percent of the Alabama average.
Both the commercial and residential real estate markets
struggled in 2009. Most loft/condo conversions as well as
potential office space renovations were put on hold or
canceled during the year. However, construction is underway on Cityville Block 121, a $35 million mixed-use project
on 20th Street in Birmingham that includes apartments,
shops, and restaurants. Lane Park is among other mixed-
use projects in the planning stages—the $200 million
development would replace the Mountain Brook Shopping
Center and nearby apartments with retail, office, residential,
and hotel space. Permits for single-family construction in
the Birmingham-Hoover metro totaled 1,479 during the first
10 months of 2009, two-thirds the number for the same
period a year ago. Plans for multi-family construction were
severely curtailed during the same period, falling from 1,017
units in 2008 to just 98 for 2009. A total of 9,114 homes
were sold in the first 10 months of the year, down an aboveaverage 19.4 percent. The decline in area home prices as
measured by the FHFA House Price Index amounted to 2.4
percent in the third quarter of 2009, the second highest
metro area drop. For the year-over-year comparison, prices
decreased 1.6 percent.
Population
7/1/2008
Alabama
4,661,900
Anniston-Oxford
113,419
Auburn-Opelika
133,010
Birmingham-Hoover
1,117,608
Decatur
150,125
Dothan
140,961
Florence-Muscle Shoals 143,791
Gadsden
103,303
Huntsville
395,645
Mobile
406,309
Montgomery
365,924
Tuscaloosa
206,765
2007 to 2008
Number Percent
Net
Change Change Migration
35,305
563
2,489
8,936
1,130
1,625
784
223
9,323
2,212
-52
2,267
0.8
0.5
1.9
0.8
0.8
1.2
0.5
0.2
2.4
0.5
0.0
1.1
18,578
273
1,703
4,279
585
1,176
716
194
7,169
245
-2,304
1,258
Decatur
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Division.
Although Decatur’s above-average
manufacturing exposure renders its
economy more vulnerable in a
recession, the metro entered the jobs
recession several months later than the
state, with monthly nonagricultural
employment staying below year-ago levels since August
2008. A 23.1 percent share in manufacturing contributed to
a 5.5 percent drop in nonagricultural jobs between October
2008 and October 2009 that was the highest among
Alabama’s metro areas. Payroll employment declined by
3,200 to 55,300; goods producing industries shed 2,000
jobs (-11.1 percent) while service providing businesses lost
1,200 (-3.0 percent). Manufacturing’s loss of 1,400 workers
was evenly divided between durable and nondurable goods
producers. On the service-providing side, retail trade saw
the steepest decrease of 400 jobs and government dropped
300 workers. Only education and health services added
jobs during the year ending in October with an increase of
100. Transportation, warehousing, and utilities; information;
and other services were flat.
Decatur’s manufacturing industries were optimistic through
much of 2008; total investment of $696 million among 14
firms earned the metro recognition by Site Selection as the
#3 small metro for industry growth. After several plant
closings early in 2009, the area’s manufacturing sector was
relatively stable. Chemical manufacturer BASF closed its
Decatur plant at the end of March, idling 115. And the April
closing of the Cargill factory cost the metro 107 positions.
United Launch Alliance (ULA) had several layoffs as projects
wound down during the year. The company saw 16
successful launches in 2009. A $159.3 million expansion
announced in 2008 will add jobs as ULA phases out the
smaller Delta II rocket and adds construction of the Atlas V.
A $927.7 million contract award from the Air Force in the fall
will help the company combine construction of the Atlas V
with its current Delta IV rockets. Other firms, including
Emerson Climate in Hartselle, BP Amoco, and Nichols
Aluminum reduced employment during the year. Debt
service issues forced Solutia to sell its nylon business to
SK Capital Partners in the spring, resulting in the renamed
Ascend Performance Materials in Decatur.
With about 7,000 more employed residents than nonagricultural jobs, the Decatur metro continues to be a net
exporter of workers, many of whom make the drive to
nearby Huntsville. The area’s labor force contracted by a
slightly below-average 3.3 percent in the 12-month period
ending in October, while total employment fell by 9.3
percent, the largest decrease of the 11 metros. Unemployment rose from 5.1 percent in October 2008 to 11.0 percent
a year later. GDP growth slowed to 3.0 percent in 2008
compared to Alabama’s 3.3 percent gain, although for the
entire 2001 to 2008 period the value of goods and services
produced in the Decatur area climbed a slightly-above
average 46.1 percent. Many manufacturers in Decatur
produce a high value-added product; goods producing
industries accounted for 53.8 percent of output in 2008, with
manufacturing alone generating 46.5 percent of area GDP.
Manufacturing output climbed 68.9 percent between 2001
and 2008.
Expansion at resin producer AlphaPet was expected to
create 100 jobs in the fall. In November strengthening
demand allowed 3M to resume an expansion of its Decatur
optical film plant that had been on hold. Early in the year
Monarch Steel was continuing to add equipment to service
Nucor’s light gauge steel coils even though Nucor was
delaying start-up of its galvanizing plant. Despite losses
through the first half of 2009, Nucor began production at the
new plant in the summer as the forecast for steel improved.
Hexcel, with 2008 investment of $180 million creating 25
jobs, and Toray Carbon Fibers saw strong demand for their
outputs which go into the production of carbon fiber used in
the new Boeing jetliner. Bond funding was approved to
purchase land on I-65 near Hartselle for a new industrial
park.
State funding kept construction of Calhoun Community
College’s Robotics Technology Park moving forward during
Alabama Metropolitan Areas
25
2009, while partnerships with vendors are supplying robots
and training equipment. The first phase of the project,
which will provide both government and private sector
employers with workers specially trained in robotics, was
completed in the spring. A second phase is slated for
completion early in 2010 and design of a third phase will
follow. An expansion project at the community college will
help serve a growing number of students.
Decatur’s financial sector was challenged in 2009, losing
around 200 jobs through October, with BBVA Compass
laying off 65 employees by year-end. Both Decatur General
and Parkway Medical Center received Tier 1 rankings as
providers in the state’s hospital services industry. Strategic
planning should help Decatur General stem recent operating
losses. The area’s hotels benefited from sporting events,
including soccer, softball, and fishing tournaments, although
occupancy suffered due to slumping business travel. Retail
additions continued at The Crossings of Decatur where
Academy Sports and Outdoors opened in the summer. New
tenants have also moved into the renovated Denbo Plaza.
However, several auto dealerships closed during 2009 and
planned remodeling of Decatur Mall was postponed. Quality
of life improvements included work on a Special Needs
Accessible Playground in Hartselle, three senior citizen sites
in Lawrence County, and Decatur Utilities sewer and water
services projects. With the help of a $22.1 million federal
government loan, Hartselle is moving ahead on plans for a
new $40 million high school. Federal stimulus funding is
contributing to downtown revitalization in Decatur and
Hartselle. The Decatur Downtown Redevelopment Authority
launched a campaign to fund an arts center that would be
shared by Calhoun Community College and Athens State
University.
Population in the Decatur metro area rose a state-average
0.8 percent during 2008, with an estimated 1,130 new
residents. Just 48 building permits were reported for singlefamily homes during the first 10 months of 2009, less than
half the number for the same period in 2008. There were no
multi-family units permitted through October and just 12 the
year before. Planned residential redevelopment of the
former Indian Hills Golf Course was put on hold. Home
prices measured by the FHFA House Price Index slipped 0.8
percent in third quarter 2009, but were down just 0.2
percent from a year ago. Deposits in FDIC-insured banks
increased a modest 1.7 percent for the year that ended
June 30. The number of banking institutions was
unchanged at 14, although the number of branches fell by
two to 46. Above-average gains of 3.3 percent for 2008 per
capita income and 3.8 percent for FY2009 median family
income earned the Decatur metro a 5th place ranking on
both. 2008 average annual wages of $34,200 were 94.6
percent of the Alabama average.
26
Alabama Metropolitan Areas
Dothan
With its retail-heavy economy, Dothan
was the first Alabama metro to see a
sustained decline in jobs; payroll
employment has been steadily below
year-ago levels since December 2007.
Opening of the Country Crossing entertainment venue on
December 1 gave employment a boost that is not reflected
in the October 2008 to October 2009 loss of 1,900 nonagricultural jobs (-3.1 percent) that dropped the total to
60,100. Dothan’s relatively small goods producing sector
was the hardest hit, with employment in manufacturing
down 700 and construction off by 500. Service producing
industries lost a total of 700 jobs. Retail trade and the
professional and business services sector each shed 300
jobs during the 12-month period. Government was a growth
industry, adding 200 positions in the state and local sector,
while education and health services and transportation,
warehousing, and utilities each gained 100. Employment in
the information and federal government sectors was flat.
The Dothan area is a net importer of workers, with over
3,000 more jobs than working residents. Total employment
fell 7.6 percent during the year ending in October 2009
compared to a statewide decline of 8.6 percent. With a
state-average 3.4 percent drop in the labor force, unemployment rose from 5.1 to 9.3 percent over the year, fourth
lowest among the metro areas. However, GDP grew more
slowly in the Dothan metro than in the state between 2001
and 2008—an increase of 37.9 percent compares to Alabama’s 43.3 percent gain. Dothan was the only metro to
see a current dollar decline in GDP during 2008; the value
of goods and services produced in the area fell 2.2 percent
for the year, with the drop spread across most dominant
sectors except government. At 68.0 percent, the share of
GDP generated by service providing businesses is secondhighest among the 11 metro areas, while the 18.0 percent
of GDP from goods producing industries is the lowest.
Manufacturing contributed 10.3 percent of payroll jobs in the
Dothan metro area in October 2009, with employment down
more than 10 percent from a year ago. Development news
in 2009 included the announcement of new industry All
Metal Roofing & Siding, investing $2.3 million and creating
35 jobs. However, cuts were reported at several local
manufacturers early in the year—Reliable Products in
Geneva laid off 156 in January and Dothan’s Tri-State Plant
Food let most of its employees go in November. Among
expansions announced in 2008, Cummings Signs added
another 100 workers, a $2 million investment at Lincoln
Fabrics should create about 30 jobs, and Wholesale Wood
Products was spending $1.2 million and adding 20 workers.
Aviation services, a primary focus of the area’s nonmanufacturing industry, has lent stability. Army Fleet Support at
Fort Rucker was adding about 200 workers to its around
3,800 employees in the second half of the year. Henry
County high school students will have convenient access to
aircraft maintenance training offered at the Ozark Aviation
Campus of Enterprise-Ozark Community College from a
classroom being set up at the Headland airport in 2010.
Dothan has been growing its distribution business despite
the lack of a controlled access highway to I-10. Several
Mexican factories have opened sites in the last two years
and another was added in February 2009 to receive goods
shipped through Panama City, Florida for distribution. A
trade agreement between the Port of Panama City and the
Port of Progreso in Yucatan could boost trade, with a
possible use of Dothan and Geneva County’s food service
industry to provide cold storage for imported food products.
Opening of the new Panama City-Bay County International
Airport in the spring of 2010 should help development in the
Dothan area, particularly with respect to industries that
would supply and service the airport. State approval of a
private proposal under consideration for a toll road to
include a southern loop around Montgomery and a route
from Midland City south to at least the Alabama line would
bring the interstate link closer to reality.
National chain store closings dealt a blow to the area’s retail
sector early in 2009. About a quarter of Dothan Pavilion’s
retail space was vacant in February, despite the opening of
a movie theater and several restaurants. Still, the Dothan
Village shopping center that will incorporate hotels and retail
businesses broke ground in the spring. Work progressed
slowly on three Publix locations in the Dothan area. The
Publix-anchored Cottonwood Corners and Publix stores at
Westway and in a redevelopment project at Northside Mall
could all open in 2010. Both a Hilton Garden Inn and
Country Inn and Suites opened in the fall.
The Country Crossings country music-themed entertainment
venue and bingo hall provided a boost to construction
employment during 2009 and to jobs in the leisure and
hospitality industry late in the year. Phase 1 of the project
opened December 1 as country music stars greeted visitors
to the development’s bingo hall and three inside celebrity
restaurants. The site also houses a bed and breakfast,
amphitheater, and RV parking area. The 1,700 electronic
bingo machines were tested for compliance with Alabama
Supreme Court guidelines. An estimated 2,000 contractors
and employees were on hand for opening day. Site
preparation is underway for Phase 2 which will include a
Family Entertainment Center, bowling alley, arcade, stage,
and other family attractions.
Income and Wages
Per Capita Income 2008
Unites States
Alabama
Anniston-Oxford
Auburn-Opelika
Birmingham-Hoover
Decatur
Dothan
Florence-Muscle Shoals
Gadsden
Huntsville
Mobile
Montgomery
Tuscaloosa
Per Capita
Income
Percent Change
from 2007
$40,208
33,768
32,189
27,601
40,379
33,345
32,016
29,275
29,450
37,938
30,347
35,845
33,726
2.0
2.7
4.1
2.7
2.5
3.3
2.4
3.8
3.9
3.8
5.0
5.0
3.3
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Average Annual Wage 2008
All Industries
United States
Alabama
Anniston-Oxford
Auburn-Opelika
Birmingham-Hoover
Decatur
Dothan
Florence-Muscle Shoals
Gadsden
Huntsville
Mobile
Montgomery
Tuscaloosa
Average
Wage
Percent
of State
$42,270
36,170
33,760
33,130
38,980
34,200
32,920
31,510
32,330
44,540
35,440
35,860
35,220
116.9
100.0
93.3
91.6
107.8
94.6
91.0
87.1
89.4
123.1
98.0
99.1
97.4
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Division of
Occupational Employment Statistics, May 2008.
Population trends in the Dothan area have benefitted from
the relocation of some coastal Florida residents; population
rose 1.2 percent in 2008 with an estimated 1,176 new
residents. BusinessWeek named Dothan the #1 place in
Alabama to raise a family. The City of Dothan continued to
provide funding to support public/private redevelopment of
its downtown. Work got underway on a $46 million sewer
treatment plant during the year and on a HUD-funded
elderly housing development.
Alabama Metropolitan Areas
27
Growth in deposits in the Dothan metro’s banking sector
was a strong 11.1 percent for the year ending June 30,
above Alabama’s 9.0 percent gain. The addition of one
banking institution brought the area total to 21, while
branches increased by two to 55. At 2.4 percent, per capita
personal income growth during 2008 was the lowest among
the metros, although the area’s $32,016 ranked seventh.
However, median family income was up a strong 5.8 percent
to $51,100 in FY2009. Average wages across all industries
in 2008 amounted to $32,920 or 91.0 percent of the
Alabama average. Building permits were issued for 175
single-family homes in the Dothan metro area during the
first 10 months of 2009, a 38.2 percent decline from the
same period in 2008. There were 56 multi-family units
permitted compared to none the previous year. Home sales
held up fairly well through October, down just 8.0 percent
versus a 15.3 percent drop statewide. Home prices based
on the FHFA House Price Index actually rose in the third
quarter compared to both the prior quarter and a year ago,
up 0.5 and 1.7 percent, respectively.
Florence-Muscle Shoals
Groundwork laid with the help of
Retirement Systems of Alabama
(RSA) investment has developed
industrial capacity in the FlorenceMuscle Shoals metro over the last
several years and set the stage for
increased production as the economy
recovers in 2010. National Alabama, facing weak demand
for railcars in 2009 and difficulty finding capital investment,
was able to purchase needed production equipment with a
$275 million loan from RSA in spring 2009 and by midOctober had turned out close to 50 cars with about 120
workers. RSA investment in a facilities upgrade that
enabled the Wise Metals Group to manufacture wider
aluminum sheets landed the company a $1 billion plus
contract with Anheuser-Busch InBev to provide aluminum
can sheets for at least five years; production is beginning in
2010.
The jobs recession that took hold in the Florence-Muscle
Shoals area in January 2008 persisted during 2009, however, with total nonagricultural employment of 54,800 in
October down 2,100 (-3.7 percent) compared to October
2008. Monthly job totals have consistently been below yearago levels since January 2008. The goods producing sector
saw the steepest decline over the past year, as natural
resources, mining, and construction shed 600 and manufacturing lost 500 jobs. On the services side, professional
and business services employment declined by 400, while
trade saw payrolls shrink by 300 during the year ending in
October, including a drop of 200 in the area’s sizeable retail
trade sector. Education and health services and state and
local government each gained 100 jobs, while information,
leisure and hospitality, and federal government employment
were flat.
28
Alabama Metropolitan Areas
Total employment of Shoals residents fell by around 5,400
between October 2008 and October 2009, an 8.4 percent
decline that was below the state’s 8.6 percent drop. Just
about 2,000 workers left the labor force during the year, a
2.9 percent decrease that was third lowest among the 11
metros. Job losses coupled with workers staying put
pushed unemployment to 10.9 percent in October, up from
5.5 percent a year earlier. With around 4,000 more
employed residents than jobs, the area continues to be a
net exporter of workers. The Florence-Muscle Shoals
economy expanded at a slightly faster pace than the state’s
between 2001 and 2008—current dollar output of goods and
services rose 45.7 percent, including a 3.6 percent gain in
2008. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the
University of North Alabama contribute to an above-average
20.7 percent of GDP generated by the government sector.
Manufacturing contributed a state-average 13.1 percent
share of area jobs in October 2009. Although employment
contracted, there were no major closings and considerable
capacity development that will generate jobs as the economy rebounds. The slow start-up of railcar production at
National Alabama gave the area the opportunity to continue
training the workforce as the company looks toward a strong
long-term outlook. Wise Metals is beginning work under its
Anheuser-Busch InBev contract for aluminum can sheets
in 2010. SCA Tissue completed a $14 million expansion
announced in 2008, adding capacity with a new paper
machine. After a $4.5 million expansion in 2008 that
added 30 jobs, commercial flooring manufacturer Flexco
announced a 2009 investment of $6.2 million in a new
product line that will create 50 jobs over three years.
Tuflex Rubber Products completed its new Tuscumbia
plant, expected to employ around 65.
Initiatives to grow existing industry are getting a boost from
the October launch of a TVA program to reward companies
making a long-term commitment in terms of jobs and
investment with power bill credits. Infrastructure development at Shoals Research Airpark is continuing; a spec
building near Rogersville Industrial Park should be ready in
Spring 2010. Technical training, particularly in welding and
machine work is an ongoing emphasis. Northwest Shoals
Community College began offering welding classes at
Lauderdale County’s Central High in the fall and broke
ground on a new training building at its Phil Campbell
campus. Muscle Shoals High School’s auto tech class
received a top 20 ranking in Tomorrow’s Technician. The
area could become a center for technical education at the
high school level under a proposal to create the Tennessee
Valley Career Technology Center as a residential campus on
TVA property. Results of a recent study suggest redeveloping TVA’s Muscle Shoals Reservation as a research
and development campus offering highly-skilled employment
with a focus on energy industry innovation.
The challenging economic environment has added to empty
storefronts across the Shoal’s retail landscape, while newer
shopping centers have not filled up. Still, the area’s
shopping hub, Regency Square Mall, is relatively stable and
2009 saw new restaurant and hotel development, including
the opening of a Best Western Hotel and Suites in Russellville and Holiday Inn Express in Florence. A Comfort Inn
and Suites and Residence Inn by Marriott should add to the
hospitality scene in 2010. TVA’s consumer connection study
is helping Tuscumbia evaluate its retail potential, while
another project is looking at future commercial and retail
development of Colbert County’s U.S. 72 corridor.
The future of hospital-based healthcare was under debate
in the Florence-Muscle Shoals metro in 2009 as financial
problems and debt load at the two providers who operate
the area’s three major not-for-profit hospitals raised concerns about their ability to maintain and upgrade services.
Late in the year, Huntsville Hospital was considering a
proposal to team up with Helen Keller Hospital and the
Coffee Health Group that could help them refinance their
respective $40 and $140 million in old debt and shore up
operations. RSA’s investment in the area’s leisure and
hospitality industry continued to pay dividends, with the
new Robert Trent Jones Spa Trail promoting the spa at
the Marriott Shoals Hotel.
Population growth in the metro was a modest 0.5 percent
for the year ending July 1, 2008, with an estimated 784 new
residents. Completion of BRAC-related moves over the next
two years could add to the area’s population as well as
provide jobs for residents—almost 900 employees at
Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal commuted from the Shoals
in 2009. Enrollment at the University of North Alabama in
Florence has grown from around 5,000 to 7,000 students in
recent years, bringing more college students to the area.
Recent quality of life improvements included completion of
Sheffield’s Love Plaza, a trailhead for the city’s bike and
pedestrian path. Creation of the Muscle Shoals National
Heritage Area in 2009 will provide marketing funding.
Helped by the city’s $14 million investment in a new sportsplex, revitalization of the area west of downtown is a priority
for Florence, although the city’s decision to purchase the
Florence Golf and Country Club and its potential future
landfill use was controversial.
Deposits in FDIC-insured institutions rose a modest 4.0
percent during the year ending June 30. Still the number
of banks operating in the area rose by two to 13 during the
year, with the addition of three branches bringing the total
to 54. Per capita personal income growth of 3.8 percent
during 2008 was better than the state’s 2.7 percent gain.
Florence-Muscle Shoals was one of just two areas to post a
decline in median family income in FY2009, with a decrease
of 1.7 percent to $51,400 (7th among the metros). The
2008 average wage across all industries of $31,510 was the
lowest among the 11 metros at 87.1 percent of the state
average. 2009 was a tough year for the area’s residential
real estate sector. Building permit activity plummeted
Housing Industry
Residential Building Permits
Single-Family
Change
2009* from 2008*
Alabama
6,998
Anniston-Oxford
89
Auburn-Opelika
540
Birmingham-Hoover
1,479
Decatur
48
Dothan
175
Florence-Muscle Shoals
113
Gadsden
49
Huntsville
1,860
Mobile
882
Montgomery
304
Tuscaloosa
286
-2,482
-27
-125
-738
-65
-108
-113
-35
-77
-260
-177
-135
Multi-Family
Change
2009* from 2008*
2,633
52
556
98
0
56
24
0
575
763
30
267
-454
38
498
-919
-12
56
-109
-8
196
35
22
-344
* Data for both 2008 and 2009 cover the period January through October.
Note: Data are for permit-issuing places only.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Total Homes Sold
Alabama
Anniston-Oxford
Auburn-Opelika
Birmingham-Hoover
Decatur
Dothan
Florence-Muscle Shoals
Gadsden
Huntsville
Mobile
Montgomery
Tuscaloosa
2009
Percent Change
from 2008
32,793
743
886
9,114
n.a.
910
1,077
515
6,593
2,862
2,852
1,387
-15.3
-18.2
-16.0
-19.4
n.a.
-8.0
-18.9
-20.3
-11.6
-19.5
-19.3
-22.5
Note: Data for both 2008 and 2009 cover the period January through
October.
Source: Alabama Center for Real Estate, The University of Alabama.
Percent Change in FHFA House Price Index
Q2 2009
to Q3 2009
Q3 2008
to Q3 2009
-2.4
-1.6
-0.6
-0.9
-2.4
-0.8
0.5
-4.5
0.9
-0.1
-1.1
-2.2
-0.7
-4.1
-1.1
0.5
-1.5
-1.6
-0.2
1.7
-1.9
1.1
1.2
-0.8
-2.0
-3.4
United States
Alabama
Anniston-Oxford
Auburn-Opelika
Birmingham-Hoover
Decatur
Dothan
Florence-Muscle Shoals
Gadsden
Huntsville
Mobile
Montgomery
Tuscaloosa
Source: Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Alabama Metropolitan Areas
29
through October compared to the same period in 2008.
Single-family home permits totaled 113, half the prior year’s
to-date total; multi-family units permitted dropped from 133
to 24. While the number of homes sold during the first 10
months was down a much smaller 18.9 percent, home
prices as measured by the FHFA House Price Index saw the
largest decrease among the state’s metros with a decline of
4.5 percent in the third quarter. The index slipped 1.9
percent from its third quarter 2008 reading.
Gadsden
Gadsden was the last of Alabama’s 11
metros to fall into the recession in
terms of jobs, with employment not
slipping below year-ago levels until
December 2008. The area’s slide has
also been less steep—500 jobs were
lost between October 2008 and
October 2009 for a 1.3 percent decline that contrasts with a
statewide drop of 4.8 percent. Goods producing industries
were responsible for all of these job losses; manufacturing
jobs fell by 400 and employment in natural resources,
mining, and construction was off by 100. The service
providing sector as a whole was flat during the 12-month
period, with modest losses of 200 professional and business
services jobs and 100 leisure and hospitality positions
balanced by the addition of 100 workers in each of
transportation, warehousing, and utilities; education and
health services; and state and local government.
adding 150 jobs. Southern Cold Storage also completed a
$9 million distribution facility to service Keystone employing
40. Federal, state, and local funds are supporting infrastructure development that will four-lane Airport Road and
extend utilities to a sizeable tract near Keystone, opening
the land for development when completed late in 2010.
Goodyear finished a three-year expansion and modernization of its Gadsden plant, adding about 230 workers
since the project got underway. Gadsden officials are
working on attracting additional Goodyear investment in
the plant. However, weak demand for its pre-engineered
metal buildings forced Rigid Building Systems to close
down its Gadsden plant in June, laying off the remaining
69 employees.
In anticipation of a spurt of activity after the current lull, area
developers continued to assess sites and had EDPA’s
Advantage Site program approve a 31-acre tract in Airport
Industrial Park. The former Advance Auto Parts distribution
center should have a new tenant in 2010, with details of the
lease being worked out late in 2009. Several projects that
were put on hold in 2009 could come to fruition as the economy recovers. Attracting second and third tier suppliers for
the VW plant under construction in Chattanooga is a priority.
Clean-up continued at the former Gulf States Steel site, with
the cost of Phase 2 of the project around $15 million. Completion of the new Career Technical Center at Gadsden City
High School in January 2010 will help provide the skilled
workforce required by new and existing industries.
With a total of 39,665 Gadsden area residents employed in
October 2009 versus 37,500 nonagricultural jobs located
there, the metro is a net exporter of workers. Cutbacks at
nearby Honda and auto supplier plants had an adverse
impact on total employment, which fell by 3,046 (-7.1
percent) during the preceding 12 months. The labor force
contracted by a much smaller 1,041 people employed or
looking for work, jumping unemployment from 5.9 percent in
October 2008 to 10.5 percent a year later. Across the entire
2001 to 2008 period, the Gadsden metro’s GDP grew at a
slower than average pace; an increase of 35.7 percent
compares to Alabama’s 43.3 percent gain. However, the
value of goods and services produced in the area expanded
3.6 percent in 2008 versus 3.3 percent for the state.
Gadsden’s economy has an above-average emphasis on
service providing businesses—64.9 percent of 2008 GDP
was generated by this sector for the third highest share
among the 11 metro areas.
Despite the challenging environment, on balance Gadsden’s
service businesses held their own in 2009. Retail trade
employment was unchanged during the year; the Coosa
Town Center location vacated by Goody’s was filled by
Famous Labels in the summer. However, a planned multiphase redevelopment of the River Trace Golf Course in East
Gadsden fell through late in the year when payments were
not delivered. CBS Supply purchased 60 acres of a 675acre tract near Pleasant Valley Road and I-59 that was
bought by Etowah County in 2008 for commercial or
industrial development. The company’s proposal for an
investment of $200 million over the next three years in a
charity electronic bingo development was on hold at yearend while they awaited certification that the planned bingo
machines comply with county and Alabama Supreme Court
dictates. If the project goes forward, CBS Supply is also
obligated to build a first-class hotel and a 3,000-seat
entertainment venue.
Manufacturing contributed 12.8 percent of area jobs in
October 2009 and 22.3 percent of 2008 GDP, both slightly
below the state average. While 2009 saw a modest
contraction and no major announcements, work completed
and groundwork laid during the year should have Gadsden’s
manufacturing sector back on track in 2010. Keystone
Foods moved into a new location for its poultry processing
operations in the fall, with the investment of $118 million
Healthcare investment continued in 2009 with Gadsden
Regional Medical Center finishing a remodeling project in
April, following completion of the $30 million Centennial
Tower in October 2008. Social services in the area will
benefit from a new building for the county’s Department of
Human Resources that is scheduled to open in the spring
of 2010. And the city of Gadsden awarded a bid for construction of a community center at Banks Park. Population
30
Alabama Metropolitan Areas
in the metro area rose a slight 0.2 percent to an estimated
103,303 residents in 2008. New residential construction
was sharply curtailed during the first 10 months of 2009; the
49 single-family units permitted were down from 84 for the
same period in 2008 and no multi-family units were planned.
A total of 515 homes were sold through October, a drop of
20.3 percent from 2008. Prices held up, however, with the
area’s FHFA House Price Index up 0.9 percent in the third
quarter of 2009 and a larger 1.1 percent compared to third
quarter 2008.
Gadsden was the only metro seeing a decline in bank
deposits for the year ending June 30—total deposits in
FDIC-insured institutions slipped 1.4 percent. The number
of banks doing business in the area rose by one to 12 and
branches were unchanged from 2008 at 28. Recently,
income has been rising more strongly in Gadsden than in
the state. Although 2008 per capita income of $29,450
ranked ninth among the metros, the annual increase of 3.9
percent ranked fourth. An increase of 4.1 percent in
FY2009 median family income also was the fourth highest.
At $32,330, the 2008 average annual wage for all industries
amounted to 89.4 percent of the state average.
Huntsville
An expanding federal government
sector and a growing list of businesses focused on scientific and
technical areas including information
technology, engineering services,
aerospace, missile defense, and
biotechnology have the Huntsville area well-positioned for a
strong recovery in 2010. Huntsville was among the last of
Alabama’s metro areas to fall into recession, with nonagricultural employment slipping below year-ago levels in
November 2008. The number of nonfarm jobs averaged
210,000 for the first 10 months of 2009, below the 214,300
workers of the same period in 2008, but 900 above the
same period in 2007. Payroll employment in October 2009
was down 4,700 (-2.2 percent) from a year ago. Goods
producing industries bore the brunt of the losses—
manufacturing shed 3,100 jobs during the 12 months and
construction lost 900. Gains in some service providing
sectors almost offset losses in others for a net decline of
just 700 positions (-0.4 percent). Retail trade (-1,500 jobs)
and professional and business services (-1,400) felt the
most severe effects of the recession. The area’s sizeable
government sector added 2,200 jobs through October,
including 1,100 in federal government work. Education and
health services expanded to serve a growing population,
creating 900 new jobs.
BRAC-related job and population gains will boost the
Huntsville metro’s position as a net importer of workers.
In October 2009 there were about 28,000 more jobs than
employed residents. However, a decline in total employment of 14,036 (-7.2 percent) paired with a contraction of
just 3.3 percent in the labor force (-6,667 workers) pushed
unemployment to 7.9 percent in October, up from 4.0
percent a year earlier but still the lowest of the metro areas.
Growth in the area’s economy has been the strongest in the
state in recent years. The current dollar value of goods and
services produced rose 63.9 percent between 2001 and
2008, including a gain of 6.4 percent in 2008 that compares
to a statewide increase of 3.3 percent. Government sector
output rose 68.1 percent during the seven years and
accounted for an above-average 23.6 percent of the total in
2008. Growth in GDP generated by the area’s professional
and business services businesses has been the driver of
the decade, however, with an increase of over 111 percent
bringing the industry’s share of total output to 22.7 percent.
Professional and technical services accounted for 85.4
percent of sector GDP in 2008; output has risen 118.4
percent since 2001 to surpass the value of production
generated by Huntsville area manufacturing firms.
Manufacturing accounted for a slightly above average 13.5
percent of jobs in the metro in October 2009. Employment
fell by 3,100 (-9.9 percent) during the year, with losses
including 1,500 jobs in transportation equipment manufacturing and 600 at companies that produce computer and
electronic products. Toyota cut production at its Huntsville
truck and SUV engine plant early in the year, suspending
the V-6 and offering a voluntary exit program for employees,
adding nonproduction days, and cutting executive pay and
bonuses. The future looks solid, however—in August Toyota
announced a $147 million expansion that will add 4-cylinder
engines to the current V-6 and V-8 lines in 2011; at least
240 workers will be hired late in 2010. But production at
Limestone County’s Delphi Saginaw Steering System plant
ended with the departure of the last 439 employees on June
26. Continental Automotive began paring its Huntsville
workforce down from about 1,280 as it looks toward closing
by year-end 2010. A $21.7 million expansion at FederalMogul Sealing Systems announced in 2009 will add 110
jobs. Palco Telecom Services’ new plant will employ 50. In
nondurables manufacturing, Athens lost a major employer
when Pilgrim’s Pride shut down in September, laying off
640. American Leakless is investing in a new Athens plant
that will employ 40. The area continued to market a TVA
megasite off I-65 in Tanner, where a new interchange
opened in the fall, as well as the Sewell property that was
considered for the Volkswagen factory.
New jobs in the federal government sector helped prop
up Huntsville area employment during 2009. Job moves
associated with the 2005 BRAC transfers will continue into
2011; in mid-December about 2,400 of 4,651 government
positions being transferred to Redstone Arsenal were
reported to have moved, with about 56 percent taken by
people from outside the area. The Missile Defense Agency,
ahead of schedule with the transfer of about half of its 2,800
jobs, is planning to further grow the workforce at the
campus under construction at Redstone, adding about 200
Alabama Metropolitan Areas
31
jobs annually through its Career Development Plan as it
looks to fill future retirements and separations. FY2010
appropriations of $7.7 billion are providing funding for the
agency’s Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD),
THAAD, and Patriot PAL-3 missile programs as well as for
adapting the SM-3 for use on land and for unmanned aerial
vehicle research. However, Boeing, which transferred about
50 jobs with the relocation of headquarters of its missile
defense systems division to Huntsville in 2009, laid off about
140 employees during the year due to cutbacks in the GMD
program. Construction progressed on headquarters for the
Army Materiel Command’s more than 1,350 workers and for
about 360 employees of the U.S. Army Security Assistance
Command. A building for the 2nd Medical Recruiting
Battalion was ready in April; August groundbreakings for the
Rotary Wing Center at Redstone airfield and headquarters
for the Redstone Test Center have the last BRAC-related
construction on track. Other building at Redstone includes
the Missile and Space Intelligence Center and the Propulsion and Explosives Technology Center, which opened in
the summer. The state announced plans to accelerate road
projects to serve BRAC-related transportation needs.
Military and defense work generated numerous contract
awards, new facilities, expansions, and new entrants to the
Huntsville metro area during 2009. WestWind Technologies
opened an Aircraft Modification and Integration Center that
will customize helicopters for foreign military sales. Tyonek
could employ 400 in the Port of Huntsville air cargo building
it leased for testing and working on Army helicopters. Agility
Defense and Government Services selected Huntsville for
its U.S. headquarters. MEI Technologies new office will
facilitate work on a five-year $158 million test and evaluation
contract with the Army. Other firms with new facilities
included SCoRe Solutions, Garver, GATR, Analytic Services,
SL1, MWH Americas, CRS Engineering, nLogic, Freedom
Information Systems, and DMD. A $1.1 billion award will
support Raytheon’s development of a Patriot missile
defense system for Taiwan. SAIC won a contract late in the
year for up to $848 million over five years for engineering
and support services to the Army’s Systems Engineering
Directorate; the funding will benefit a team of 238
subcontractors with a presence in Huntsville. The
Department of Defense’s Defense Acquisition University
completed a new building late in the year that will grow its
role supporting the defense community.
Local colleges and universities are working to help provide
the workforce and support needed by both defense and
support firms—Calhoun Community College offered free
tuition scholarships for engineering students, while the Army
Garrison Command at Redstone partnered with Drake State
Technical College on a cooperative educational program.
New majors in management of acquisition and contracts,
enterprise systems, and logistics and supply at Athens State
are targeted to BRAC needs. AMCOM awarded the
University of Alabama in Huntsville a $75 million contract
32
Alabama Metropolitan Areas
for a Systems Management and Production Center to work
with Redstone; the University’s Center for System Studies
provides systems engineering assistance to area firms.
Marshall Space Flight Center’s manned space flight
program, Constellation, which saw a successful test of the
Ares I-X rocket in October, received $3.46 billion in federal
funding for FY2010. The Center, which employs about
2,540, is also leading development of a new upper stage
for Ares I and the Ares V cargo launch vehicle. With 70
percent of space workers eligible to retire in the next five
years, ongoing recruitment is a priority. NASA work at
Marshall brought expansions at existing firms such as
NeXolve in 2009 as well as new entrants to Huntsville
including Draper Research Lab and ASRC Aerospace. A
Dynetics-led team won a $335 million five-year contract for
information technology services at Marshall. The area has
been reaching out to aerospace workers at Kennedy Space
Center who could be out of a job when the current space
shuttle program is shut down.
Although the weak economy clouded the outlook for the
Huntsville area’s retail sector when bankrupt national
companies left vacant spaces during 2009, activity should
pick up in 2010 as job and population gains provide opportunity. Bridge Street completed The Station entertainment
complex in the summer and saw the opening of The Sports
Authority anchor in Phase 2. Construction is slated to begin
in 2010 on the Centre’s second office tower. SpringHill
Suites at the Constellation mixed-use project was on track
and the development was marketing restaurant outparcels
during the year. Dick’s Sporting Goods opened at Valley
Bend at Jones Farm in the spring. A number of mixed-use
projects that incorporate restaurants, retail, offices, and
residential are planned or under construction, including
Resonant Pointe across from Huntsville Hospital, Eighteen
Watercress on the site of the old Monrovia Golf Course, a
public/private development in downtown Huntsville, and the
Harris Hill project in northeast Huntsville.
Healthcare in the area will become more convenient when
the new Madison Hospital opens in February 2012. Construction of the $71 million, 60-bed hospital that will be
operated by Huntsville Hospital and employ around 500 got
underway late in 2009. The hospital will be a catalyst for
medical facilities development in the area, including the
planned $10 million Madison Medical Park. BlueCross
BlueShield’s Huntsville service center opened in the fall—
current employment of 70 could grow to 200. However,
Aramark laid off 163 in healthcare support services late in
the year. The city-county jail expansion was finally complete
in April.
Both job opportunities and quality of life brought numerous
kudos to the metro area during 2009. In November
BusinessWeek selected Huntsville as the #2 city set for a
recovery in the jobs market. Forbes names Huntsville one
of its Leading Cities for Business in April and in July tagged
it among the Top 5 Best Cities for Recession Recovery;
Fortune Small Business called Huntsville the top mediumsized city among Best Places to Launch. Madison was
touted by CNNMoney.com as one of America’s Top 50 Small
Towns and by U.S. News & World Report as the second
Best Place to Grow Up. Kiplinger’s named Huntsville the
nation’s Best City in 2009 and RelocateAmerica chose it as
one of the Top 10 Places to Live. Huntsville continued to
see the strongest population growth among the state’s
metros with a 2.4 percent gain in 2008 adding over 9,300
residents. Given the large number of workers at Redstone
Arsenal and Cummings Research Park, a group is studying
the possibility of developing light rail that would initially
service those areas. The concept of secure rail into the
Arsenal is of particular interest since a southern bypass was
rejected due to security concerns. Public school construction is proceeding as the area prepares for ongoing population growth. Huntsville’s Mill Creek Elementary was
under construction and funding was approved for a new
elementary school in Big Cove as well as for a replacement
Lee High School. Limestone County’s Blue Springs Elementary will open in fall 2010; Madison is building a new
high school in an annexed area of the county. New dorm
space will enable the University of Alabama in Huntsville to
require freshmen and sophomores to live on campus in the
fall of 2010.
The City of Huntsville continued to pursue public/private
partnerships that will increase residential living and activity
in the downtown area. Residential building has held up
relatively well during the past year, with 1,860 permits
issued for single-family homes during the first 10 months of
2009 just 4.0 percent below the same period in 2008. At
575, multi-family units permitted were up 51.7 percent
compared to the previous year. A total of 6,593 homes were
sold through October, an 11.6 percent decline from a year
ago. However, Madison County saw an all-time record 526
sales close in November. The FHFA House Price Index had
Huntsville metro area home prices up 1.2 percent in third
quarter 2009 compared to a year ago and essentially
unchanged from the prior quarter. With more than half a
million square feet of new spec commercial space in the first
half of 2009 and tight lending conditions, development is
expected to shift to a build-to-suit mode.
Huntsville’s banking sector saw the strongest growth among
the state’s metros during the year ending June 30, 2009.
Deposits in FDIC-insured institutions rose18.7 percent and
the number of banks increased by one to 25, with six new
branches bringing the total to 115. Per capita income rose
3.8 percent to $37,938 in 2008, second highest among the
metro areas. At $67,500, FY2009 median family income in
the Huntsville area was the highest in the state and $3,500
above the U.S. median. Wages across all industries averaged $44,540 in 2008, well above the state and national
averages.
Mobile
Progress made in 2009 on the $4.65
billion ThyssenKrupp steel plant as
well as infrastructure construction at
Alabama State Port Authority facilities
should contribute to a strong rebound
in the Mobile economy during 2010.
Shipbuilding could also be a growth
industry, while education and health services will continue to
provide stability and job gains. Mobile was among the last
of Alabama’s metro areas to fall into recession in terms of
jobs, with monthly nonagricultural employment consistently
below year-ago levels since November 2008. Payroll jobs
totaled 180,400 in October 2009, down 4,600 (2.5 percent)
from a year ago. Goods producing industries accounted for
over half of the job losses—natural resources, mining, and
construction shed 1,700 jobs (-11.0 percent) and manufacturing employment declined by 900. On the serviceproviding side, only education and health services managed
to post a gain, adding 800 positions. Employment in each
of professional and business services, financial activities,
and state government fell by 600 between October 2008
and October 2009.
The Mobile metro, which comprises just Mobile County, is
a net importer of workers. There were 162,727 working
residents in October, about 17,700 fewer than the number
of jobs located in the area. Employment was down 13,150
from a year earlier, a 7.5 percent decrease that was the
third lowest among the 11 metros. Perhaps looking ahead
to upcoming opportunities, out-of-work residents generally
stayed active in the labor force—a decline of just 1.8
percent during the 12 months pushed area unemployment
from 5.6 percent in October 2008 to a relatively high 11.0
percent. Mobile’s economy expanded a strong 5.4 percent
in 2008, well above the state’s 3.3 percent GDP growth rate
and second only to Huntsville’s 6.4 percent. Over the entire
period from 2001 to 2008, however, the total value of goods
and services produced in the area rose only slightly faster
than the state average with an increase of 43.6 percent.
Almost two-thirds of Mobile’s economic output comes from
services (64.2 percent versus 58.8 percent for the state).
Manufacturing contributes a below-average 13.6 percent of
the area’s output and just 8.6 percent of jobs. That is about
to change, however, as the ThyssenKrupp plant becomes
fully operational over the next several years, producing highvalue steel and generating as many as 2,700 jobs. While
weak economic conditions in 2009 forced the company to
delay completion of the stainless steel portion of the plant,
the larger carbon steel rolling mill should start-up in spring
2010 as scheduled. The mill will process raw steel slabs
imported from Germany until a new raw steel plant in Brazil
can be completed. At the end of October 3,540 ThyssenKrupp applicants had completed AIDT pre-employment
training for what will eventually be 2,700 positions. Applicants are largely from the region, but include experienced
Alabama Metropolitan Areas
33
steel workers from outside the area. Over 4,500 construction workers were on site in the fall and 400 hundred were
already employed by the carbon steel operation. Carbon
steel employment was expected to rise by over 100 by yearend and reach about 1,000 in early summer 2010. The
carbon steel portion of the plant accounts for around 70
percent of ThyssenKrupp’s planned $4.65 billion investment
and will employ about 1,900. With start-up of the stainless
steel plant postponed at least a year, the workforce has
been frozen at the 177 already hired. Work on the stainless
steel melt shop got underway in the fall, although its opening could be pushed back from 2012 to 2014 as demand for
the product and the company’s finances recover from the
recession. Warehouses and a training facility were constructed at the site during the year, although part of the
river terminal was delayed.
While completion of several projects led to modest layoffs
at shipbuilder Austal USA in 2009, 2010 should see employment growth. The company delivered the littoral combat
ship (LCS) Independence, built under contract with General
Dynamics, to the U.S. Navy late in the year. Commissioning
of the USS Independence is set for January 16 in Mobile,
the first time a ship has been commissioned there since
World War II. The company is set to begin work on a
second LCS as the Navy continues to evaluate awards of
future LCS contracts. Austal also got the go-ahead in midDecember to begin construction of the first of a potential
10 Joint High Speed Vessels that it will build for the military.
An $88 million investment in the first stage of a Modular
Manufacturing Facility should have Austal well-positioned
for cost-efficient production. C&G Boatworks was selected
to construct two more patrol boats for the Navy, adding to
a previous order for four. However, Bender Shipbuilding
and Repair was forced into Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with
VT Halter Marine making a bid for its assets early in 2010.
Local shipyards received $6.3 million in federal stimulus
grants for capital improvements during the year. Mobile’s
new Maritime Science Center should open in summer 2010,
with capability to train up to 700 annually in skills needed by
the shipyards.
In other industrial developments, Armstrong World Industries
idled 172 with the closing of its flooring plant in May; 70 will
lose their jobs when the New Era Cap Company distribution
closes early in 2010. Economic conditions led SSAB to delay some of the $460 million announced in 2008 for expansion of its Mobile area steel plate plant. And Teledyne
Continental Motors implemented several layoffs at its
Brookley Field airplane engine plant. An expansion at
umbilical tube manufacturer Aker Solutions should create
30 jobs. EADS opened a maintenance, repair, and overhaul Delivery Center at Mobile Regional Airport; Mobile is
headquarters for Airbus Military North America. However,
prospects for the Northrop Grumman/EADS team landing
a re-bid $40 billion Air Force refueling tanker contract faded
as Northrop considered not submitting a bid due to the
34
Alabama Metropolitan Areas
proposed new guidelines. EADS plans for a $600 million
aircraft assembly operation in Mobile hang in the balance.
Sizeable reductions in coal shipments and the negative
impact of the recession on shipments in general depressed
revenues at the Alabama State Port Authority in Mobile for
FY2009, although container, steel, forest products, and rail
business are expected to pick up later in 2010. Recent
capital investment has greatly expanded the Port’s capacity
and capabilities. The Mobile Container Terminal closed
deals with Maersk, Hyundai, and American President Lines
during 2009 as it builds up business at the expanded facility.
Engineering and design work progressed during the year on
a bridge that will link the terminal to a proposed $75 million
intermodal container transfer facility at Choctaw Point. Work
was almost complete on the $86 million Pinto Island Terminal that will service ThyssenKrupp. About $100 million has
been spent on upgrades to the McDuffie Coal Terminal,
with another $4 million budgeted in FY2010. The Port is
positioning itself to take advantage of the Panama Canal
expansion that should be complete in 2014—the container
terminal is built for post-Panamax ships and the economic
stimulus is funding a new turning basin that will accommodate the larger vessels.
There were a number of developments in the metro area’s
service industries during 2009. Healthcare and social
assistance as a whole was a growth sector, adding 500 jobs
in Mobile County during the year ending October 2009,
although most local hospitals eliminated a modest number
of positions early in the period. Higher than expected
patient volumes had the University of South Alabama’s
(USA) Mitchell Cancer Institute, which opened in November
2008, adding to employment. The University’s Research
and Technology Park is considering a new building since
retirement plan services provider DailyAccess filled the
remaining current space in the spring. RSA’s purchase and
renovation of the 34-story former AmSouth building will
increase Class B+ office space in downtown Mobile;
completion is scheduled for March 2011. The service sector
got a big boost from an $8.5 million headquarters, data
center, and customer call center for Ryla—the Saraland
location started up with more than 500 employees on June
30 and almost immediately began recruiting another 600
workers to meet client demand.
The number of cruise ship passengers traveling through
Mobile got a boost in November when the larger Fantasy
replaced the Holiday; Carnival Cruise Lines will replace the
Fantasy with the 2,052-passenger Elation in May 2010.
Visitors to downtown Mobile will have a new destination late
in 2011; the Mobile City Council voted to secure financing
to help fund a planned interactive maritime museum,
GulfQuest, being built on the waterfront. The Alabama
Motorsports Park in Prichard was on hold, however, as
investor group Gulf Coast Entertainment worked to line
up financing and branding to replace the dropped Dale
Earnhart Jr. affiliation for the $640 million project.
Although 2009 was a difficult year for commercial real
estate, education-related projects have helped support
nonresidential construction in the Mobile area. USA has
invested about $108 million over the last several years and
construction began in the fall on the $50 million Shelby Hall
Engineering and Computer Sciences building. Spring Hill
College was finishing up $100 million of renovations and
expansion with a $12.8 million student center. A $29.6
million Saraland High School opened at the end of 2009 to
anchor the city’s newly-independent school district. With
population growth moving to the west, Mobile County has
plans for a new elementary and a middle school near
Creola, while considering consolidating or closing other
below-capacity schools. Total population growth in the
metro was estimated at just 2,212 in 2008, an increase of
0.5 percent. There were 882 permits issued for singlefamily homes during the first 10 months of 2009, down a
better-than-average 22.8 percent compared to the same
period in 2008. Apartment development picked up 4.8
percent to 763 units. However, the total number of homes
sold was down an above-average 19.5 percent for the same
period. Home prices as measured by the FHFA House
Price Index slipped in the third quarter, down 1.1 percent
from the prior quarter and 0.8 percent compared to a year
ago.
Deposits in FDIC-insured banks in the Mobile metro were
up 6.6 percent for the year ended on June 30, less than the
state’s 9.0 percent increase. The number of banking institutions increased by two to 20, while eight additional branches
brought the total to 123. Per capita income improved at a
strong 5.0 percent pace during 2008, although at $30,347 it
ranked 8th among the metro areas. An increase of 3.3 percent brought median family income to $49,500 in FY2009,
ranking 10th. Average annual wage of $35,440 for 2008
was 98.0 percent of the state average.
Montgomery
The federal government sector,
centered around Maxwell-Gunter
Air Force Base, lent stability to the
Montgomery metro economy during
2009, while favorable consumer
opinions of Hyundai vehicles made
in the area as well as innovative
marketing helped the automaker fare better than most.
However, the area fell into the jobs recession at the same
time as the state in June 2008 and most sectors saw
employment dwindle during the year ending in October.
Overall, nonagricultural employment fell by 6,000 (-3.3
percent) to 173,900. Goods producing industries lost 2,700
jobs, about 10 percent of their October 2008 total; construction shed 1,000 workers and manufacturing cut 1,700 during
the 12 months. Service providing businesses dropped a
total of 3,300 jobs (-2.2 percent);the largest declines were
in professional and business services (1,000), retail trade
(800), leisure and hospitality (600), and financial activity
(500). Falling revenues hurt state government services,
with employment in the metro that includes the state capitol
sliding by 400.
Montgomery’s workforce contracted by almost 6,700
residents between October 2008 and October 2009, a 3.9
percent decline that was steeper than Alabama’s 3.4 percent
decrease. Total employment fell by around 13,200 (-8.1
percent) during the 12 months, pushing unemployment up
from 5.8 percent to 10.0 percent, ranking in the middle of
the metros. Although the current dollar value of goods and
services produced in the area increased an above-average
4.0 percent in 2008, GDP growth of 40.5 percent between
2001 and 2008 was weaker than the state-average 43.3
percent. At 18.5 percent, the share of output generated by
goods producing industries in 2008 was third lowest among
the metros, while the 23.6 percent coming from government
was tied for third highest. Construction activity has fallen
18.0 percent over the last two years. Output from the Montgomery area’s manufacturing sector climbed 77 percent
during the period from 2001 to 2008, which includes production start-up at Hyundai and supplier firms.
Even with the automotive sector, manufacturing contributed
just 10.0 percent of Montgomery area jobs in October 2009
and 12.7 percent of 2008 GDP. After slumping early in the
year, sales of Hyundai’s locally-produced Sonata sedan and
Santa Fe SUV began to pick up in August and the plant
moved from a three-day work week back to a five-day
schedule. Total production passed 20,000 in September for
the first time since 2008; demand for the Santa Fe rose
more than 50 percent in September and 70 percent in
October compared to a year earlier. Sales of the 2010
Sonata were strong toward year-end, with fleet purchases
an important part of demand. Daily production ramped up to
1,000 vehicles per day in November, but dropped somewhat
in December as the plant shifted Sonata production to the
redesigned 2011 model. The plant’s one- millionth vehicle
rolled off the assembly line at the end of November. A
second engine plant that opened in Montgomery in 2008 is
supplying the new Sonata model’s 4-cylinder engines, while
the original 6-cylinder factory is making engines for both the
Santa Fe and the 2011 Kia Sorento, being produced just
over the east Alabama state line in West Point, Georgia.
The company is extending through 2010 the successful
Hyundai Assurance Program that lets a buyer or lessee
return a new vehicle for up to a year if they lose their job;
the campaign earned Hyundai Advertising Age’s Marketer
of the Year award.
International Paper is investing $40 million to rebuild one of
the recovery boilers at its Prattville mill. Other Montgomery
area developments in 2009 include an expansion at Hager
Hinge that will add 40 jobs and a $3.7 million investment at
Alabama Metropolitan Areas
35
Elmore County’s Neptune Technology Group. However,
SABIC Innovative Plastics cut 53 workers at its Burkville
plant in March, while Prattville’s Continental Eagle, cofounded 177 years ago by Daniel Pratt, announced plans to
move the cotton gin manufacturing operation to India. While
Wetumpka lost its Fruit of the Loom carpet yarn plant in the
spring, a new gelato manufacturing and distribution business was established in the city. Montgomery’s distribution
focus grew with the March opening of Turennne PharMedCo’s headquarters and medical supply distribution operation
in Montgomery Industrial Park.
Montgomery’s banking sector was shaken by the midAugust failure of Colonial BancGroup, the third largest statechartered bank with $25 billion in assets. Colonial’s downfall was the largest bank failure in the nation in 2009 and
the first in Alabama since 1992. FDIC regulators seized
the bank and sold it to North Carolina-based BB&T for a
seamless transition that allowed customers to continue to
access accounts and services. BB&T agreed to purchase
about $22 billion of the assets and assumed the $20 billion
in deposits; the failure cost the FDIC’s Deposit Insurance
Fund an estimated $2.8 billion. While most direct customer
contact Colonial employees were able to keep their jobs,
some of the 1,000 Montgomery headquarters workers in
administrative and support jobs were let go with severance
pay and job-search assistance.
Employment in the metro’s retail sector fell by 800 during
the year ending in October, although general merchandise
stores added about 100 employees. Prattville continued
to see retail development, adding The Exchange to the
shopping cluster north of Montgomery along Cobbs Ford
Road that includes Prattville Town Center and High Point
Town Center, home to a Bass Pro Shops. High Point added
several shops and restaurants during the year, but its
anchor space is full so larger stores turned to The Exchange
in 2009. Both Hobby Lobby and Academy Sports and Outdoors opened there in the fall and a Kohl’s is slated for
completion in the fall of 2010. Academy Sports also completed a Montgomery location near the Shoppes at EastChase in the summer. Serra will open a car dealership for
Indian-made Mahindra vehicles in the city. Retail vacancies
grew, however, as bankrupt national retailers pulled out.
The City of Montgomery has seen sales tax revenues slip
over the last several years as Prattville’s retail growth
provides convenient shopping for some residents. Barnes
and Noble closed its store at the declining Montgomery
Towne Center in June and efforts to redevelop shuttered
Montgomery and Normandale Malls were on hold. Office
and retail space was completed in Montgomery’s
Hampstead development early in the year.
The metro area benefitted from tourism dollars generated by
the Navistar LPGA Classic, held at Prattville’s Capitol Hill
course (part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail) in September; the tournament will return in 2010. Montgomery played
36
Alabama Metropolitan Areas
host to the 22nd Air Force Information Technology Conference that drew about 6,000 in late August. Montgomery’s
downtown development and revitalization continued, with a
pedestrian bridge that will complete the intermodal project
and link the riverfront observation tower to the intermodal
facility. Autauga County’s construction of a sewer system to
serve the new Marbury High and Pine Level Elementary
schools could spur residential growth. Continuing revitalization efforts in west Montgomery include the city-led Lanier
Place subdivision project and replacement of Tulane Court
with a modern housing and retail development. As part of
the West Montgomery Initiative, the city purchased land for
a new park on Fairview Avenue. Population in the Montgomery metro as a whole was unchanged in 2008, with
losses in Montgomery and Lowndes counties matching
population gains in Autauga and Elmore.
With a strong base in state government, Maxwell-Gunter Air
Force Base, and Hyundai, Montgomery’s commercial real
estate market fared relatively well in 2009. The primary
weakness was in the banking sector, where the collapse of
Colonial BancGroup could add to vacancies created by the
earlier merger of Regions and AmSouth banks. Tight
lending conditions also contributed to vacant warehouse
space. Residential real estate did not fare as well—permits
for single-family home construction fell 36.8 percent to just
304 for the first 10 months of 2009 compared to the same
period in 2008 and there continued to be very few permits
issued in the multi-family market. The total number of
homes sold was down an above-average 19.3 percent yearover-year. House prices measured by the FHFA House
Price Index dropped 2.2 percent during the third quarter of
2009 and 2.0 percent compared to a year earlier, second
highest among the state’s metros.
Bank deposits at FDIC-insured institutions increased a
strong 13.1 percent for the year ending on June 30—prior to
the Colonial failure. The number of banks rose by two to
22, although branches fell by two to 113. Per capita income
growth of 5.0 percent in 2008 compares to a state-average
2.7 percent gain; at $35,845 the area ranked third. Median
family income increased by a below-average 2.3 percent to
$57,700 in FY2009. Average annual wages of $35,860 in
2008 were 99.1 percent of the state average.
Tuscaloosa
Strong enrollment growth at The
University of Alabama, sizeable
influxes of visitors for the University’s
home football games and other
sporting events, and a growing
healthcare industry helped support
the Tuscaloosa metro during 2009.
However, the area’s large automotive manufacturing
exposure was a negative factor as the effects of the
recession deepened and consumer spending and credit
tightened. Still, Tuscaloosa was among the last of
Alabama’s 11 metros to fall into recession in terms of jobs,
with monthly nonagricultural employment consistently below
year-ago levels from November 2008 forward. A total of
3,200 jobs (-3.2 percent) lost between October 2008 and
October 2009 dropped payroll employment to 95,900.
Goods producing industries bore the brunt of the decline,
with job losses of 1,000 (-11.4 percent) in natural resources,
mining, and construction and 1,200 in manufacturing (-7.9
percent). Service providing businesses shed 1,000 positions during the year, including 500 in retail trade and 300
in professional and business services. Only state and local
government, with 200 new jobs, and education and health
services, which added 100, posted gains in payroll
employment.
The Tuscaloosa metro is a net importer of workers,
providing about 9,000 more jobs than the number of
employed residents. Mercedes is a destination for some
Birmingham-area residents; and in general workers from
surrounding rural counties often continue to live there and
commute to Tuscaloosa. During the 12 months through
October 2009, employment of area workers fell 8.0 percent
while the labor force contracted by just 3.1 percent.
Although still well below the state average of 10.7 percent,
unemployment more than doubled to 9.3 percent. The
current dollar value of goods and services produced in the
metro area grew strongly between 2001 and 2008—an
increase of 62.4 percent compared to the state’s 43.3
percent gain. However, GDP growth slowed to just slightly
better than average in 2008. Manufacturing accounted for a
34.5 percent share of output in 2008 that was second only
to Decatur’s share. Just 45.6 percent of GDP was generated by service providing businesses in contrast to 58.8
percent for the state. Manufacturing passed government in
share of area GDP during the 2001 to 2008 interval; output
from manufacturing climbed 82.9 percent and government
output rose 59.7 percent during that time.
Manufacturing contributed 14.6 percent of Tuscaloosa area
jobs in October 2009 and 17.2 percent of 2008 output, both
moderately above the state averages. Mercedes-Benz U.S.
International struggled to bring supply of the SUVs produced
at its Tuscaloosa County plant in line with sinking demand.
2008 marked the first time since start-up in 1997 that
Mercedes was forced to curtail operations and reduce its
workforce. The 32-hour work week implemented in October
2008 continued through the end of November 2009 and,
coupled with lengthened holiday and summer shutdowns,
seriously impacted the economic well-being of workers at
the plant and at area automotive parts suppliers, who
generally parallel Mercedes. Release of temporary workers
and voluntary buyouts reduced Mercedes workforce from
4,000 to around 3,000 as the second shift was cut at one of
the two assembly lines and paint shops at the first of 2009.
Additional separations late in 2009 brought the number of
employees down to 2,800. Hundreds of former Mercedes
workers are eligible for extra help, including training and
relocation allowances, under the Trade Assistance Program
due to increased import competition. Total vehicle production in 2009 was almost 35 percent below its 2008 level.
Improving consumer confidence as the nation emerges from
recession brought the plant back to five-day work weeks
from late November at least through February 2010 to meet
increased demand. A milestone was reached with the production of the one-millionth M-Class SUV in September.
Investment and new product lines announced during the
year should assure a solid future for the area’s automotive
sector. A $290 million investment at Mercedes, which is
expanding the body shop and adding new equipment and
robotics, is slated for completion in October 2011. The plant
is diversifying its product line with its first full hybrid, the
ML450 SUV. The big development of the year, however,
was the December decision by Daimler AG to move some
C-Class production to the Vance plant, which will be the sole
supplier for North America when production begins in 2014.
Employment at the plant is expected to climb back close to
the pre-recession level of 4,000 by that time. Despite the
downturn in the industry, Mercedes supplier Brose
Tuscaloosa is planning a $4.1 million expansion that will
yield 30 new jobs. New supplier Faurecia North America
will start work early in 2010 on a $15 million plant that could
employ close to 200. In November, though, Visteon closed
the plant that it opened in 2008. In other industrial developments, an expansion at Smith Machine turned out to be
larger than planned, costing almost $6.4 million and creating
51 jobs. Hunt Refining continued work on its $823 million
expansion with the addition of two 120-foot hydrocracker
reactors; a coker expansion will begin operation in mid2010. However, Graphic Packaging closed one of its two
Tuscaloosa plants in May, idling 87.
Healthcare lent stability to metro Tuscaloosa employment
during 2009. The new DCH Cancer Center opened in April,
providing four times the space of the old facility. While the
Alice M. Kidd Nursing Home on the Bryce Hospital campus
closed in July, a deal worked out at year-end will keep the
main Bryce Hospital in Tuscaloosa—a new facility will be
built on the grounds of the W.D. Partlow Developmental
Center. The area’s retail scene was challenged by the exit
of bankrupt national and regional companies including
Circuit City, S&K Menswear, and Goody’s. Goody’s vacated
an interior location at McFarland Mall, adding to the growing
number of empty storefronts there. Bruno’s bankruptcy and
sale resulted in the closure of several grocery stores during
the year. The Publix-anchored Capital Market Center in
Taylorville opened in January 2009, offering space for small
shops and for outparcel development. Tuscaloosa’s
Midtown Village is slowing filling up, with several stores and
restaurants opening in 2009. The city continued to evaluate
its incentives for new retail and for redevelopment as it
seeks to compete for retail businesses. Prospects for
business growth earned Tuscaloosa a #11 ranking among
small cities as a CNNMoney.com Best Place to Launch.
Alabama Metropolitan Areas
37
Rapid increases in The University of Alabama’s student
population, which reached 28,807 in fall 2009, are
contributing to population growth in the Tuscaloosa metro
and helping the University maintain and even expand its
faculty and staff, despite reductions in state funding. The
estimated addition of 2,267 new residents to the area in
2008 amounts to a 1.1 percent gain that is above the state
average of 0.8 percent. The University’s student body
growth and its loyal football following are among the
catalysts for numerous recent and ongoing construction
projects. A favorable bond market helped secure funding for
an $80.6 million expansion of Bryant-Denny Stadium that
will add 9,000 seats for the 2010 season. The $104 million
RidgeCrest South residence halls were ready in the fall,
adding 968 beds for on-campus students. Federal funding
largely funded the $70 million second building in the Shelby
Science and Engineering Complex that was completed in
the summer. Demolition of two existing engineering
buildings and construction of the third phase of the complex
got underway at the start of 2010. Funding of $40.2 million
for a fourth phase was included in the FY2010 appropriations bill. Plans were under development for an addition
to and restoration of historic Foster Auditorium to host
women’s sports. And at the end of the year, the University
was able to work out plans to purchase the adjoining Bryce
Hospital property for future expansion. UA also purchased
and will operate the Capstone Village retirement community
on the edge of campus.
Tuscaloosa’s downtown development progressed during the
year, with several new bars and restaurants added and
ongoing work on the University Boulevard gateway. Contracts were awarded for construction of a $14.9 million
riverfront amphitheater that is slated for completion later
in 2010. The city’s intermodal center opened downtown,
serving as a bus terminal and parking garage. A groundbreaking was held in mid-December for the $67 million
federal courthouse that will be the centerpiece of the
downtown urban renewal project. Plans are moving forward
for riverfront development that will include a farmer’s market
and multipurpose facility. And a within-budget bid for construction of the Queen City Transportation Museum should
jumpstart that stalled project. Prospects for conversion of
the Spiller Building downtown into a cultural arts center
brightened late in the year when the city entered into a
lease agreement for the building.
Area tourism benefited from a USA Triathlon event with
about 1,100 participants in the summer, while local residents
enjoyed the April Blue Angels show. Rural Hale and Greene
counties are trying to parlay their natural advantages into
eco-tourism, organized by groups such as Alabama Black
Belt Adventures. Tuscaloosa County’s Parks and
Recreation Authority took bids for an activity center at
Faucett Brothers Park in Northport. A number of public
school projects were completed by the fall, including reopening the former Tuscaloosa Middle School as a magnet
38
Alabama Metropolitan Areas
school and the City of Tuscaloosa’s new Southview
Elementary and Middle schools. The Tuscaloosa County
school system is building the new Sipsey Valley Middle and
High schools. High school consolidations were under
consideration in Hale County.
Commercial office space benefited from the opening of the
Bank of Tuscaloosa building on the riverfront—other tenants
include Hunt Refining and law and accounting firms. Multifamily housing construction slowed in 2009 as the market
waited for the large number of condominiums and apartments built in the past several years to be absorbed. One
student-oriented development, The Retreat at Lake Tamaha,
was completed in the fall. Stimulus funding will get
construction going on the second phase of the McKenzie
Court housing project; a first phase with 112 units was
completed in 2008. Building permits for single-family homes
in the Tuscaloosa metro area slid an above-average 32.1
percent to 286 for the first 10 months of 2009 compared to
the same period in 2008. At 267, the number of multi-family
units permitted was 56.3 percent below a year ago. Home
sales fell 22.5 percent to 1,387 for the same period. On a
year-over-year comparison, prices measured by the FHFA
House Price Index were down 3.4 percent in the third
quarter, the steepest decline of the state’s metros.
Bank deposits in FDIC-insured institutions rose at an aboutaverage rate of 8.8 percent during the year that ended on
June 30, 2009. The number of banks in the area was
unchanged at 22 and branches increased by one to 61
during the year. 2008 per capita income growth of 3.3
percent compares favorably to the state’s 2.7 percent gain;
at $33,726 Tuscaloosa’s per capita income ranked fourth
among the 11 metro areas. However, median family income
posted a weak 1.7 percent increase in FY2009 and ranked
sixth at $55,000. Average annual pay of $35,220 was 97.4
percent of the Alabama average in 2008.
Deposits in All FDIC-Insured Institutions
(Millions of Dollars)
Alabama
Anniston-Oxford
Auburn-Opelika
Birmingham-Hoover
Decatur
Dothan
Florence-Muscle Shoals
Gadsden
Huntsville
Mobile
Montgomery
Tuscaloosa
6/30/2009
Percent Change
from 6/30/2008
Percent
of State
83,430
1,636
1,904
27,724
1,819
2,779
2,236
1,140
7,092
5,725
7,754
2,930
9.0
2.3
5.3
13.8
1.7
11.1
4.0
-1.4
18.7
6.6
13.1
8.8
100.0
2.0
2.3
33.2
2.2
3.3
2.7
1.4
8.5
6.9
9.3
3.5
Source: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.