Ten Years of Successful Economic and Workforce Development

The City of Durham, along with its economic and workforce development partners, started an annual tradition in 1998 designed to measure the various components of the Durham economy.  Ten years later, we still gather every year to measure our progress for the year and to celebrate our hard work and good fortune.  We have much to be thankful for - ten years after that first breakfast, December 8, 1988:

Our population has increased by approximately 15%, driving economic activity.

We have become a more diverse community, with 48% white, 37% African American, 9% “some other” race, and 4% Asian. 
The languages we hear are also diverse.  The Hispanic population represents about 11.6% of Durham’s total population.

We continue to have a young population providing talent for a demanding workforce.

Our tax base is healthy:  43% of the base is from commercial properties.

Assessed Values continue to grow every year - providing stability to government and the private sector.

Total construction permit values have never been below $640 million in any given year and reached a high of $919 million in calendar year 2006.

Retail sales tax collections have increased from $130 million in 2002 to $166 million in 2007.

The number of persons living downtown has increased 81% since 1997.  The number of housing units has increased 80% for the same period.

The amount of leasable office space downtown has increased 63% while the vacancy rate has stayed constant.

The number of persons working downtown has increased by 65%.

Our housing has remained affordable: our cost of living index remains 10 points below the rest of the country.

Visitor spending nearly doubled form 1997 to 2006 (+91%), made even more remarkable because it required overcoming a 2-year drop in spending in the aftermath of 9/11. 

In 1996, Durham was 16% higher in total crime per 100,000 vs. Southeast peer cities (10).  Ten years later, Durham is about even with our peer cities, and 10% below national peer cities (29).

The number of persons employed in Durham County has grown 16% in 10 years, yet the unemployment rate remains low at 3.7% vs. 2.5% in 1997.

Durham continues to lead the region in announced business investments and job growth.

Durham continues to lead the 13-county Triangle region with 48% of its business investments and 49% of its jobs.

 

Even while basking in this good news, we must continue to think about the future and ask ourselves the question:  Where will we be in the year 2017? 

We commend the community for having tackled difficult and challenging issues in the areas of transportation, natural resources, conservation and green development, affordable housing, arts and culture, higher education, workforce development and poverty.  How we, as a community, choose to address these and other issues in the next ten years will define The State of Durham’s Economy on its 20th anniversary.