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Core
Indicators Report Economic Vitality Focus: Employment
Indicator:
Rationale The economic health of a community can be expressed by its total income or output. Total income is the addition of all of the paychecks received by members of a community and the magnitude of that income is dependent on the level of pay and the number of people working. The number of people not working (unemployment) then becomes a primary indicator to watch in judging the community's economic health. The unemployment rate is the number of those searching for work over the age of 16 divided by the total potential labor force. The consequences of unemployment are grave for communities and their residents particularly when high unemployment persists. A rule of thumb used by economists to quickly measure the costs of unemployment (Okun's Law) suggests that each percentage point change in the unemployment rate results in a change in the GNP of 2.5 - 3.0 percentage points. In case of a loss, this represents resources not created that could have been and consequently limits choice and opportunity below the optimal level. Measure:
Data Analysis Over the recent past five years (1994-1998), the unemployment rate in St. Joseph County has averaged 3.7 percent. This rate was slightly but notably lower than the rest of the State of Indiana as a whole when the State's average rate during the same period was 4.1 percent. Thus, the County rate was about 90 percent of the rest of the State. The unemployment rate has been declining at a steady rate since the early 1990s and, in 1998, stood at 2.8 percent in the County. During this period there were more people in the labor force. (The labor force is the sum of the number of people unemployed and the number employed.) The annual growth rate in the labor force in St. Joseph County was 0.4 percent - ahead of the 0.3 percent for the rest of the State during the 1994-98 period.
Focus: Income Per
capita income Indicator: Rationale Per Capita Income is dependent on the level of pay and the number of people working. A larger income for a community creates greater degrees of choice: the larger the total income of a community the more opportunities available for residents. Individuals can decide how to improve their lives with the payroll they receive and the community can decide how they can collectively increase well being through the spending of taxes. Measures:
Data Analysis Over the 1992-96 period, the per capita personal income (PCPI) of St. Joseph County residents averaged 103 percent of the average for the rest of the State with a PCPI of $21,374 compared to the State's $20,741. Still, the growth rate in PCPI for the County (4.5%) lagged that of the State (4.7%) over the period. For the longer period, 1987-96, the PCPI increased at an annual rate of 4.5 percent for the County—notably lower than the rest of the State (5.2%). The average of wages and salaries in the County over the 1993-97 period was $24,434—slightly below the rest of the State ($25,269). Wages and salaries were growing at a slower rate in the County compared to the rest of the State (3.2% vs 3.6%); over the 10-year period 1988-97, the per annum growth rate in wages and salaries for St. Joseph County was 3.4% compared to 3.5 percent for the State.
Overview • Community Capacity •Economic Vitality • Health • Quality of Life |
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Economic
Vitality |
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"The economic health of a community can be expressed by its total income or output...The number of people not working (unemployment) then becomes a primary indicator to watch in judging the community's economic health. " John
R. Hagen, Ph.D.
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