The Economy

 

 

Stressed economy has potential
Jobless rate has increased, but location helps outlook
By ANGELA SHAH
Staff Writer / The Dallas Morning News

Right now, it's best to come to North Texas job-in-hand

A persistently weak regional economy has stunted employment growth in the area. Telecoms still struggle to adjust to a new business landscape. Most recently, AMR Corp.'s American Airlines nearly filed for bankruptcy.

"Even the positive things that are starting to show in the economy are not showing in employment yet," says Lyssa Jenkens, chief economist for the Greater Dallas Chamber. "There is hiring going on, but, mostly, it's replacement hiring. This is not the place to come if looking for short-term or medium-term opportunity."

The technology bust and the decline in the stock market have particularly affected Dallas-Fort Worth, where transportation, telecom and tourism make up an important part of economic activity. As a result, the Dallas area's unemployment rate has risen sharply, from an incredibly low 2.8 percent in April 1999 to 7 percent and above for most of 2003. The Fort Worth-Arlington area has fared little better, plunging to a record low jobless rate of 2.7 percent in December 2000 but hovering around 6.2 percent this year.

Still, that's not to say that North Texas isn't the spot to place your bets over the long run, Ms. Jenkens adds.

"Dallas has a unique set of attractive qualities for economic development," she says.

Generally speaking, the economy is helped by its demographic makeup and geographic immensity. With two metropolitan statistical areas – Dallas and Fort Worth-Arlington – the region enjoys an economy that is both urban and rural, cutting-edge and traditional.

So, along with established employers in industries such as banking and energy, the North Texas workforce includes employees in telecommunications and the biosciences. Major employers include AMR, which employed more than 26,000 people regionally as of April. Other large employers include Lockheed Martin, SBC Communications and Verizon Communications.

North Texas is home to a growing and educated workforce – a must-have foundation for any vibrant economy. The area's fortune in geography – being situated in the center of the country – helps keep the cost of doing business here low.

Those characteristics helped to create much of the prosperity the region gained during the 1990s. In that time, the area's population grew by 1.2 million, or 29 percent. According to the North Texas Commission, North Texas had 31 percent of Texas' population growth and 30 percent of the state's growth in employment.

Ms. Jenkens points out another bright side to the region's woeful economic conditions.

"As a business, this is a great place to come," she says. "We've got a whole lot of workers out there looking to work."

E-mail ashah@dallasnews.com

LARGEST EMPLOYERS

Number of D-FW workers as of April AMR , 26,700