Economic Trends
Figure 2-3 shows historic and projected trends in the City’s employment growth. The prolonged recovery from the 2001 national recession slowed employment growth between 2000 and 2007. As the City’s economy matures, with less vacant, developable land, future growth will be slower than experienced in the past. Yet, the City's economic base should continue to diversify as shipbuilding and the military sectors stabilize and new office and technology firms are added to the City's economic base. Newport News will continue as the economic engine of the Peninsula.
Despite positive growth in employment and economic investment, Figure 2-4 shows that the City’s per capita income is lower than that of U.S., Virginia, and Hampton Roads. This can be explained partly by a concentration of the region’s poorer neighborhoods in Newport News and partly by the Virginia average being skewed by higher incomes in Northern Virginia. Newport News is attracting high salaried professional and technical jobs that have pulled income levels upward. Since 2000, the City’s per capita income levels have risen compared to those of the U.S., Virginia and Hampton Roads. The creation of livable communities that are attractive to upper income households will continue to raise average income levels. This becomes an economic development goal for the future.
By the year 2030, the City's economic base will become more technology and service oriented. National and international trends will promote or hinder the City's economic development efforts. However, at the local level choices will be made that shape our future. Defense budgets, international events, changes in naval warfare strategy, energy and transportation costs, aging of the population, smaller household size, will affect choices on where people live, will affect the local economy and the lives of each citizen. The vulnerability of our core industry to changes in national and international policy underscores the need to diversify the City's economy. See Figure 2-5.
The employment projections shown in Figure 2-3 assume stability in the defense and shipbuilding sectors, consistent with the
2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) decisions, which will be implemented by 2011, If future employment levels at the
Shipyard and at military bases decline, then the economy of the City in the year 2030 could be radically altered.
