Strong fundamentals enable area economy to outpace national trends

September 12, 2008

The Herald-Whig Staff (opinion)

The Quincy area economy and job market continue to display fundamental strength during a national downturn that has battered many regions of the country.

Area residents have more reason to be hopeful and less reason to be fearful than many other Americans.

Employment projections provide one basis for optimism. Manpower Inc., for example, in describing the fourth-quarter job outlook for the region, characterized the Quincy area as an “active job market” where “employers expect to hire at a healthy pace ... .”

The Manpower report shows that 27 percent of area companies plan to expand payrolls during the final three months of this year and only 3 percent plan cutbacks.

That is well ahead of national figures that show only 22 percent of firms plan to add workers while 13 percent plan layoffs.

That local edge is in keeping with historic trends.

Over the last 7 years, fourthquarter hiring projections by companies in this area have averaged 29 percent higher than for the nation as a whole. That same trend can be seen in projections for other quarterly periods.

The outlook this year, to be sure, is more restrained than a year ago when 40 percent of local firms were planning to hire workers. That figure, though, was the third-highest in ten years and not likely to be duplicated even if national economic conditions were more promising.

Other indicators, such as unemployment figures, reinforce the view of a region that is outperforming the nation as a whole and many other areas of the country.

In July, the nation’s jobless rate rose to 5.7 percent and the Illinois rate to 7.4 percent. In Adams County, the rate also rose but, at 5.5 percent, was the fifth lowest in the state.

While there have been layoffs and plant closings in recent months, most notably at Methode facilities where 550 jobs were eliminated, there also have been gains.

Prince Agri Products has announced plans to build a multimillion- dollar addition that will create at least 41 jobs.

Gardner Denver plans to add manufacturing positions in Quincy that will more than offset the loss of other positions from a corporate restructuring.

The real estate market is experiencing a slowdown, but nothing compared to the meltdown that is occurring nationally and in many other regions. The number of homes sold this year lags last year, but the average price is only marginally lower.

Many other major projects, planned or under way, illustrate the essentially healthy nature of the region’s economy relative to national and state benchmarks.

Sound fundamentals are in place: a business-friendly environment, a diverse and skilled employment base, a well-developed transportation network, high quality of life, low cost of living, and excellent health and education facilities to name a few.

The highway network nearing completion in this region is without doubt the best guarantee of continued economic strength.

Numerous studies affirm the critical link between highway connection and prosperity, and this area is fortunate that vital segments of a well-integrated regional network are being completed this year.

The Avenue of the Saints, a fourlane highway connecting St. Louis to St. Paul Minn., is complete except for the expressway at Hannibal. Ill. 336 from Carthage to Macomb, completing what could be considered an Illinois portion of the Chicago-Kansas City Expressway, will be finished this year except for the bypass at Macomb.

The final four-lane segment of U.S. 36 across Missouri, 52 miles between Hannibal and Macon, will be complete next year, extending the I-72 corridor that crosses Illinois.

Each of these corridors brings the promise of significant economic development. Together, that promise is limitless.

These factors and others are moderating the effects of the current economic slump and providing a framework for speedy recovery.

While caution is appropriate in these challenging times, consumers and the business community will only make matters worse if they retreat too far into a financial bunker.

There is every reason to believe the region will weather this downturn on an even keel and continue to move forward.