Alabama’s Housing Units and Households Increase in 1998

• July 26th, 2019

Alabama’s Housing Units and Households Increase in 1998

Alabama had an estimated 1,866,000 housing units on July 1, 1998, up from 1,670,000 reported on April 1, 1990. This 11.7 percent increase compares to a 10.0 percent gain for the United States. According to the Census Bureau, the number of households in Alabama grew 10.4 percent, increasing from 1,507,000 on April 1, 1990 to 1,663,000 as of July 1, 1998. Gains nationwide amounted to 9.9 percent. Compared to 1996, the number of households in Alabama was up 39,000 in 1998, or 2.4 percent.

The aging of the baby boom generation boosted the number of Alabama households with a householder aged 45 to 54 by 34.2 percent between April 1, 1990 and July 1, 1998 and those with householders 35 to 44 by 15.6 percent. Alabama households with householders aged 15 to 24 increased 3.3 percent; 55 to 64, 7.4 percent; and 65 and over, 7.8 percent. Only the state’s households headed by 25 to 34 year olds declined (-5.9 percent); the United States saw declines in households for heads aged 15 to 24 and 25 to 34.

With 14.0 percent of 1998 households headed by a 55 to 64 year old and 22.5 percent by a householder 65 and over, Alabama households are more elderly than average—36.5 percent of households are in these two categories, compared to 34.5 percent of U.S. households. Shares of Alabama households by age of householder include ages 15-24, 5.7 percent; 25-34, 17.2 percent; 35-44, 21.8 percent; and 45-54, 18.9 percent.

Persons per household in Alabama were estimated at 2.56 in 1998, compared to 2.61 for the nation. Alabama reported an average of 2.62 persons per household in 1990.

Users may access a table of housing unit and household data for 1990 and 1998 under Populations Estimates and Projections in the Data area of this site.

Alabama’s Population Gain Slows in 1999

• July 26th, 2019

Alabama’s Population Gain Slows in 1999

Alabama added 18,825 new residents between July 1, 1998 and July 1, 1999, according to estimates released by the Census Bureau. This compared to about 30,750 new residents gained between 1997 and 1998. Alabama’s 1999 population of 4,369,862 was 0.4 percent higher than the revised 1998 total of 4,351,037. Alabama gained 1,590 residents due to net international migration between 1998 and 1999. However, for the first time in the 1990s, Alabama showed a net loss of residents to other states. The Census Bureau estimates that just over 600 more people moved out of Alabama to other states than moved in. This is counter to a trend that saw more than 9,000 people move into Alabama from other states annually between 1990 and 1998.

From the 1990 census through July 1, 1999, the state’s population increase totaled 329,473, an 8.2 percent gain that ranks the state twenty-fourth in population growth for the 1990s. Alabama was the twenty-third most populous state in 1999. For the period April 1, 1990 to July 1, 1999, Alabama ranked thirteenth in net domestic migration and thirty-ninth on net international migration.

Overall, the nation’s population rose 0.9 percent from 1998 to 1999 to total 272,690,813. Led by Nevada’s population gain of 3.8 percent and Arizona’s 2.4 percent increase, the West was the fastest growing region in the country with an average gain of 1.5 percent. California showed the largest numerical increase of any state with 462,327 new residents, representing a 1.4 percent increase. At 1.2 percent, the South ranked second in overall regional growth. Georgia led the South with a population increase of 2.0 percent. Texas posted a 1.7 percent increase, while Florida and North Carolina each gained 1.4 percent. Population growth in the nation’s Midwest averaged 0.5 percent, while the Northeast saw a 0.3 percent gain. Pennsylvania’s population was down 8,313, the largest numerical loss of any state.

Three tables detailing state population growth are available in Population Estimates and Projections Data under Data. These include annual state populations for April 1, 1990 through July 1, 1999, estimates and components of change for the period 1990 to 1999, and rankings based on change from 1990 to 1999.

Retailing in Alabama, 1997

• July 26th, 2019

Retailing in Alabama, 1997

Alabama counted 231,665 workers employed in 20,163 retail establishments in 1997, according to the 1997 Economic Census: Retail Trade, Geographic Area Series, Alabama. The Census Bureau has released an economic census series every five years since 1967. The 1997 data are the first based on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) rather than the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. This change results in a lack of comparability between 1997 economic census data and data for prior years. In particular, eating and drinking places have been removed from retail trade to a new Accommodations and Food Services classification.

There were an average of almost 47 retail establishments per 10,000 Alabamians in 1997, above the U.S. average of 42. As shown in Table 1, gasoline service stations are the most readily accessible retail business, with 7.2 per 10,000 residents. Stores selling motor vehicles and parts were second in frequency, at 6.6 stores per 10,000 people. In contrast, general merchandise retailers, where stores tend to be large, numbered just 2.1 establishments per 10,000 Alabamians. Alabama’s retail landscape looked a little different from the nation’s, with the state having quite a few more gas stations and motor vehicles and parts dealers and somewhat more general merchandise, furniture, and health and personal care stores relative to its population. Both food and beverage stores and sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores were less prevalent in the state than in the nation as a whole.

General merchandise stores reported the largest number of workers per store in Alabama at 52. Almost 21 percent of the state’s retail workers were employed in 909 general merchandise establishments in 1997. Another 21 percent worked in grocery and other food and beverage stores which averaged 23 workers per store. Dealers in motor vehicles and parts employed 12.5 percent of Alabama’s retail workers.

Sales of motor vehicles and parts are big business in Alabama, accounting for 27.4 percent of all retail sales in 1997, slightly above the national average of 26 percent. Per employee sales at these stores amounted to $346,241, well above the second-highest category of building materials and garden equipment and supplies stores with sales averaging $195,603 per employee. Sales per employee were lowest at clothing retailers, averaging $94,487. Food stores accounted for a 15.7 percent share of 1997 Alabama retail sales as measured by the economic census. General merchandise stores were close behind at 15.5 percent.

Payroll per employee averaged $14,598 across the state in 1997. However, employees include both full and part-time workers, so this does not represent the average wage of a full-time employee. Nationally, average payroll per employee amounted to $16,954.

Alabama’s metropolitan areas (MSAs) range in population size from just over 100,000 in Gadsden to an estimated 900,000 in Birmingham. This is reflected in metro area sales as a share of the state total shown in Table 2. Almost 25 percent of all sales statewide in 1997 were made in the Birmingham MSA, with another 12.6 percent transacted in Mobile. Retail sales per capita give an indication of the strength of each area’s retail sector, both in keeping the business of local residents at home and in attracting shoppers from outside the area. The Dothan metro area in southeast Alabama is able to draw shoppers from neighboring Alabama, Florida, and Georgia counties with the result that per capita retail sales averaged $2,624 above the statewide average of $8,473. And sales in the Birmingham, Florence, Montgomery, and Tuscaloosa MSAs were more than $1,000 above the Alabama average in 1997.

The detailed report, 1997 Economic Census: Retail Trade, Geographic Area Series, Alabama is available online at the Census Bureau website (www.census.gov). On the opening screen under Business click on Economic Census. Select Retail Trade, then Alabama to access the .pdf file. Alabama’s 264-page report includes data by detailed retail sector for the state, metropolitan areas, counties, and places. Summary state and metropolitan area tables are accessible under Data on the CBER web site (cber.cba.ua.edu).

Carolyn Trent

Alabama’s Metropolitan Areas: Driving the State’s Economy

• July 26th, 2019

Alabama’s Metropolitan Areas:
Driving the State’s Economy

The economic strengths of Alabama’s eleven metropolitan areas (MSAs) combined to drive the state’s economy in 1999. Over 70 percent of Alabama residents lived in the state’s 22 metropolitan counties, which were home to 76.5 percent of all nonagricultural jobs for the year. These metropolitan areas accounted for over 24,000 net new jobs in 1999, while the state’s 45 nonmetro counties suffered a loss of about 5,400 jobs. Unemployment for the year fell below the Alabama average of 4.4 percent in eight of the eleven MSAs.

Each metropolitan area presents a unique economic mix and faces its own challenges as it builds on its strengths and works to overcome its weaknesses throughout 2000.

Carolyn Trent

Alabama Metropolitan Area Strengths and Weaknesses in 1999

U.S. Population Will Look Different in 2050

• July 26th, 2019

U.S. Population Will Look Different in 2050

The New Economy: What is it and is Alabama ready?

• July 26th, 2019

The New Economy: What is it and is Alabama ready?

Alabama is a participant in the “New Economy” of the 21st century where economic wealth and job creation are increasingly driven by ideas, innovation, and technology. This does not mean that most firms are manufacturing technology or delivering technology services—such firms accounted for about 11 percent of U.S. GDP in 1999. Rather, most firms are organizing their work around some aspect of technology. Investment in information technology is a major factor in enhancing business operations and increasing productivity throughout the U.S. economy.

The demands of a technology-driven economy are in some ways the same, but in many ways quite different from those of the old industrial order. Location decisions are influenced in part by traditional factors that affect the cost of doing business including tax rates or incentives, compensation costs, land and office costs, energy costs, capital costs, and the business climate, areas as a whole where Alabama can do well. But technology-oriented firms also emphasize the availability of a trained and educated workforce, proximity to excellent higher educational facilities and research institutions, an existing supplier network, access to venture capital, and a good quality of life. While workforce demands tend to rule out many rural areas, an emphasis on quality of life may increasingly result in more activity outside the nation’s major urban centers. Although parts of Alabama have much to offer in many of these areas, availability of an adequate trained and skilled workforce is a major weakness. Recent reports indicate that even in Huntsville, home to Alabama’s highest concentration of high-tech industries, firms are having a hard time finding college-educated engineers and technical workers to fill available jobs. Shortages have been noted in Birmingham and Montgomery as well.

Where are the citizens of Alabama today?

Workforce—On the key factor of an educated working age population, we lag behind. In 1998, 78.8 percent of Alabamians 25 years old and over had completed high school, ranking the state 42nd. With 20.6 percent of these residents completing a bachelor’s degree or higher, the state’s 1998 ranking was 38th. Many of today’s high-tech jobs require a college education and recent projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that jobs needing at least an associate’s degree will increase more rapidly to 2008 than jobs requiring less education. Of course, educational attainment is not evenly dispersed across counties—in 1990, 37 of Alabama’s 45 rural counties had fewer than 60 percent of adults with a high school education. On the other hand, Alabama’s worker training initiatives through the Alabama Industrial Development Training Program (AIDT) have been a significant factor in attracting major firms like Mercedes, Boeing, and Honda.

Computer Literacy—With the development of the Internet and the declining cost of personal computers, more and more Americans have electronic access to the information economy. According to the National Telecommunications Information Administration, by the end of 1998 over 40 percent of U.S. households owned computers and 25 percent had Internet access. However, the South as a region is behind, creating what has been termed a “digital divide.” Alabama ranked just 46th, with 34.3 percent of households owning computers in 1998. It earned a ranking of 39th for 21.6 percent of households with Internet access, better than eight other southern states. Actual usage is of course higher, as many access computers and the Internet at work, school, and community centers.

Where is Alabama’s high-tech economy today?

Certain areas of Alabama are heavily involved in high-tech manufacturing and services. A 1999 study by the Milken Institute asserts that the high-tech sector is boosting the long-term growth path of the U.S. economy. Focusing on the nation’s metro areas, they conclude that high-tech activity explains 65 percent of the differences in output growth among metro areas during the 1990s. In their definition of “tech poles”—metro areas that assert the strongest technology gravitational pull—Huntsville ranked 50th and Birmingham ranked 57th. Huntsville ranked 23rd on the percentage of total real output in high-tech in 1998 at 16.1 percent, with high-tech employment of 34,380. Further breaking down high-tech industries, the Institute ranked Huntsville high on several indices: 9th on overall concentration of high-tech services; 3rd on output of guided missiles, space vehicles, and parts; 7th on computer and data processing services; and 2nd on engineering and architectural services output. Birmingham also showed its high-tech strength with the 2nd highest concentration of telephone communications services among all U.S. metro areas and a 15th place ranking on overall high-tech services. High-tech services accounted for 9.2 percent of total area output and employed 21,140 in 1998.

Business Alabama Monthly’s December 1999 ranking of the state’s top 100 technology firms confirms these area concentrations—the Huntsville MSA claimed 45 of the 100, followed by Birmingham with 21. Huntsville was home to two of the nation’s top 150 electronics companies in a 1999 ranking by Electronic Business—SCI Systems at number 52 and Intergraph at 172. The state is a major player in contract manufacturing, with SCI Systems the largest in the nation; Avex Electronics of Huntsville 8th largest; and Mid-South Industries of Gadsden 39th. The Huntsville and Montgomery MSAs made the list of the top 20 U.S. sites for electronics companies in the 1999 Electronics Industry Year Book. Montgomery is home to almost 100 information technology firms focusing primarily on software development.

Support for New Technology Ventures

Incubators—Many fledgling high-tech companies must be nurtured in their early stages. Incubators have been growing in number with about 600 nationwide in 1999 compared to 12 in 1980. Two Alabama groups made Digital South’s 1999 list of major incubators: the Office for Advancement of Developing Industries (OADI), started in Birmingham in 1986, currently with 25 tenants and a $1 million budget from UAB; and the Business Technology Development Center in Huntsville, founded in 1997 and housing five tenants in 1999 with a $500,000 budget from NASA, TVA, and state and city grants. OADI has been instrumental in the development of Birmingham’s biotechnology cluster.

Venture Capital—Venture capitalists provide the finances to develop new firms. The MoneyTree U.S. Report’s recent survey of venture capital firms found venture capital investments totaling $35.6 billion nationwide in 1999, up 150 percent from 1998. Ninety percent of the 1999 venture capital was directed at technology-based companies. Software firms captured 18.5 percent of the total; telecommunications, 14.7 percent; and business services, 12.8 percent. With $59.2 million in venture funds invested in the state in 1999, Alabama ranked 28th.

Venture Capital Investments
(millions of dollars)

  Source: PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Moneytree U.S. Report.

IPOs—Most IPOs are spawned from the high-tech and Internet sectors, making them a barometer of an area’s technology growth. Alabama has had few IPOs in recent years. In addition, over a dozen of the state’s publicly traded companies have been bought out or folded over the last several years. And there do not appear to be many companies than might be ready to go public in the next few years. However, innovation as measured by patents awarded has accelerated during the last several years, with UAB alone tallying 45 for 1999 and the first quarter of 2000.

Where do we rank on “The State New Economy Index?”

Alabama’s “New Economy Index”
Ranking by Selected Components

Source: Progressive Policy Institute.

“The State New Economy Index,” compiled by the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) in 1999 for their “Technology and New Economy Project,” ranks Alabama 44th among the 50 states on a composite of variables that contribute to successful economic transformation in a technology-based environment. These variables represent five factors: knowledge jobs, globalization, economic dynamism, transformation to a digital economy, and technological innovation capacity. Alabama received its highest rankings on jobs in “gazelle” companies (companies with revenue growth of at least 20 percent for four straight years), high tech jobs as a share of total, and job churning (a measure of business start-ups and failures). It came up especially short on technology in schools, online population, IPOs and patents, and workforce education (a weighted measure of postsecondary education). Massachusetts ranked first on the index, followed by California and Colorado. Mississippi, Arkansas, and West Virginia had the lowest index scores.

According to the Institute, low costs, tax abatements and other financial incentives no longer insure success. “In the New Economy, states’ economic success will increasingly be determined by how effectively they can spur technological innovation, entrepreneurship, education, specialized skills, and the transition of all organizations—public and private—from bureaucratic hierarchies to learning networks.” The study also offers policy strategies for states:

• Co-invest in the skills of the workforce
• Co-invest in an infrastructure for innovation
• Promote innovation and customer-oriented government
• Foster the transformation to a digital economy
• Foster civic collaboration.

How can Alabama move into the mainstream of the “New Economy?”

Given Alabama’s economic history, the socioeconomic makeup of our people, and a development strategy traditionally focused on low costs and abundant natural resources, it is not surprising that we lag in readiness. According to the PPI, this should be seen as a challenge: “While history shapes the hand a state is dealt, public policy determines how the hand is played.” In key aspects of business, Alabama is headed in the right direction.

A number of statewide initiatives and organizations are geared toward encouraging the growth of high-tech industry in Alabama. The Alabama Semiconductor Alliance, formed by the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama (EDPA), has been at work promoting Alabama sites suitable for the semiconductor industry. And the Microelectronics Education Consortium, an organization of 13 two-year colleges and EDPA, is working to increase the readiness of Alabama’s workforce for jobs in the microelectronics and semiconductor industries. The Alabama Technology Network, a collaborative effort of The University of Alabama system, Auburn University, selected two-year colleges, and EDPA, is available to help existing industry make the transition to the “New Economy.” In addition, the newly-formed nonprofit Alabama Information Technology Association is promoting high-tech companies and providing networking opportunities for inventors and investors.

On the governmental side, Governor Don Siegelman’s Commerce Commission has proposed legislation designed to support the growth of small, high-tech companies, which often cannot benefit from traditional incentives or tax breaks. A state tax credit for 80 percent of research expenditures above a base level, including research and development contracts with state universities, would be given to help fledgling high-tech companies get on their feet. The credits could be sold to other firms to raise capital if the firm did not owe taxes. The state is also contemplating incentives to help lure a semiconductor manufacturer to Alabama.

Some areas of the state are doing well in the knowledge- based economy. But urban and rural Alabama must both move forward if the state as a whole is to flourish. A well-educated citizenry with up-to-date work skills is fundamental to attracting and growing more technology-based jobs. Efforts to build Alabama’s high-tech sector will fall flat if we cannot provide these industries with the engineers, computer scientists, and other technologists they need.

References

Many of the reports, publications, and organizations referred to in this article can be accessed over the Internet. Click here to access a list of web sites that relate to the New Economy.

Carolyn Trent

Looking at Occupations in the Coming Decade

• July 26th, 2019

Looking at Occupations in the Coming Decade

Health-related occupations dominate the list of the fastest growing jobs for the coming decade. Registered nurses, personal care and home health aides, nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants will have numerous employment opportunities. Personal care and home health aides provide personal and physical care for elderly people and for patients who are recovering from surgery and other serious health conditions. They perform a variety of light housekeeping tasks for those in need of home care. Employment in this occupation is expected to increase because the number of people in their seventies and older who will need the services of these workers will be rising as the population ages. Also, there will be an increasing reliance on home care for patients of all ages. This trend reflects several developments, including

• efforts to contain costs by moving patients out of hospitals and nursing facilities as quickly as possible,
• a growing recognition that treatment can be more effective in familiar surroundings than in clinical surroundings, and
• improved medical technologies for in-home treatment.

Employment of physical therapy assistants and aides, occupational therapy assistants and aides, and occupational therapists is expected to grow much faster than average, partly due to the aging of the population, even though federal Medicare reimbursement policies may restrict growth in the short term. Efforts to cut the rapid growth of spending on health care, by private medical insurers and health maintenance organizations and by the government, will restrict the growth of some health care occupations. In particular, provisions of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 will restrict growth in physical and occupational therapists due to caps on Medicare payments, at least through 2003. On the other hand, some health-related occupations are projected to grow rapidly as a result of efforts to reduce health care costs. For example, employment among physician assistants is expected to grow because these workers perform duties that formerly had been performed only by physicians, who generally are paid considerably more than physician assistants.

The number of medical records and health information technicians employed also is expected to grow rapidly due to the need to maintain records for an increasing number of medical tests, treatments, and procedures that will undergo increasing scrutiny by third-party payers, courts, and consumers. Other health-related occupations in which employment is projected to grow rapidly include medical assistants, respiratory therapists, dental assistants, surgical technologists, dental hygienists, cardiovascular technologists and technicians, speech-language pathologists and audiologists, and ambulance drivers.

The computer industry is expected to generate numerous opportunities in the coming decade. Systems analysts, computer support specialists, and computer engineers are among the occupations with the largest projected numerical job growth through 2008. Rapid growth is also expected for data processing equipment repairers and for electronic semiconductor processors. Electronic semiconductor processors produce the chips used in computers and many other products currently on the market.

Conversely, changing technologies in the computer field will also adversely affect some computer-related occupations. Computer operators are on the list of declining occupations due to the shift away from large mainframe computers that these workers operate. Some occupations, such as computer programmer, already a sizeable category, will generate large numbers of new jobs, even though they are expected to grow at average or below-average rates.

Occupations requiring education beyond high school will be in higher demand in the future. Occupations requiring an associate degree or higher education, which accounted for 25 percent of all jobs in 1998, will account for 40 percent of job growth from 1998 to 2008. The overwhelming majority of employees in this category work in managerial and administrative occupations. Almost all workers in these occupations earn more than the median for all wage and salary workers. All categories of occupations requiring at least an associate degree are projected to have faster-than-average employment growth over the coming decade. All categories requiring less education and training are expected to grow more slowly than average.

Despite those forecasts, there will still be large numbers of available jobs that will require no education and training beyond high school, other than short-term on-the-job training. These occupations in the lowest training categories will have many openings, but there will be more new jobs in occupations that require at least an associate degree. In general, workers in occupations requiring the least amount of education and training have less job attachment than do employees in other occupations. Therefore, there is a great need for replacement workers when people leave these existing low-skill jobs. Earnings in these jobs most often fall in the lowest earnings quartile. Occupations in this category include clerical workers, operators, fabricators, laborers, and many jobs in the service industry.

Only a small proportion of new jobs in the coming decade will require more education than a bachelor’s degree, such as a master’s degree, a doctoral degree, or a first-professional degree. However, occupations requiring these advanced degrees are the most highly paid. Occupations requiring work experience plus an advanced degree are at the top of the earnings rankings.

Some kinds of occupations are in decline. There are two major reasons occupations fall into decline. Either the industry they are concentrated in is projected to decline, or else technological or business practices will reduce the industries’ demand for the occupation. Industry change is the major cause of projected declines for sewing machine operators and for butchers and meat cutters. The manufacturing sector of the economy will continue to automate, and thus require fewer workers. Jobs for operators, fabricators, and laborers will continue to disappear.

Most of the occupations with the largest declines are affected by technological change. Changing computer technology will significantly reduce demand for word processors and typists; accounting bookkeepers and auditing clerks; and bank tellers. Printing and publishing occupations will be greatly affected by the continued shift to computerized printing and publishing methods. There will be decreased demand for offset lithographic press operators, typesetting and composing machine operators, printing film strippers, and proofreaders and copy markers.

Some occupations will be affected by both changes in technology and business practice and also by declines in the industries in which they are employed. Such occupations include farmers, farm workers, welfare eligibility workers and interviewers, and railroad brake, signal, and switch operators.

Job openings in any occupation occur for two reasons. Some are new jobs resulting from additional demand for a particular kind of worker. Other openings are for replacement workers in existing jobs. People retire and people quit. In most occupations, replacement needs exceed new growth. Even occupations that are projected to decline will provide some job openings. Many jobs are expected for retail salespersons, cashiers, waiters and waitresses, marketing and sales worker supervisors, and food, counter, fountain, and related workers. These will largely be replacement jobs. New jobs in the trade sector are projected to increase more slowly in the coming period than in the recent past.

These new projections describe an economy marked by moderate growth, low unemployment, strong foreign markets, and improving technology. The now familiar movement to a service-based economy will continue. Computer technology, health care, and other professional services will dominate the list of fast growing occupations. Jobs requiring high levels of education will continue to grow fastest. Nevertheless, there will also be a proportion of new jobs that will have very limited education and training requirements.

Compiled by Annette Jones Watters from two articles in Monthly Labor Review, November, 1999: “BLS Projections to 2008: A Summary,” by Charles Bowman and “Occupational Employment Projections” by Douglas Braddock.

Exports: A Key Factor in Alabama’s Economy

• July 24th, 2019

The Great Recession: 18-Months Before, During, and After

• July 24th, 2019

April 27, 2011: A Day that Changed Alabama

• July 24th, 2019