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New Report Establishes Data for Future Planning and Analysis of Monterey County Economy
Through its Economic Vitality Committee, your Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce has compiled numerous economic and demographic reports about Monterey County and the Monterey Peninsula These reports have been produced for various government entities, local institutions of higher education, economic development organizations, military base advocacy groups, and the Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce. Here are some of these reports:
Your Chamber was pleased to see the release on September 20, 2024 of a new report, Monterey County Industries & Economic Trends 2024 (read a summary). Produced by a well-known California-based professional economics research firm (Beacon Economics), the report was contracted by the Monterey County Business Council in partnership with County of Monterey Economic Development. It is a product of the “Building Business Back” program funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021.
The report is not an economic development strategy, but it lays the framework to create an economic development strategy. For the first time, the County of Monterey has a comprehensive, systematically-organized baseline of economic and demographic data that can be tracked over longer periods of time through the collection of consistent data. Individual statistics can be evaluated in context, rather than as a point in time without context. The report examines all twelve cities in Monterey County and the unincorporated areas of the county.
This data collection, combined with other resources listed above, can give elected officials and other business and community leaders a solid data-based framework to develop, promote, and implement public policies. Creating opportunities and eliminating obstacles and burdens will promote economic growth, quality job creation, and household prosperity for all people in the county.
Dr. Chris Thornberg, Founding Partner of Beacon Economics, introduced the report at an event at the Monterey Conference Center on September 20 and presented slides to put the report in the context of the national and state economy. Your Chamber staff has created a rough outline of some of the findings. This list is NOT all-inclusive, but it generally agrees with the findings of other studies and reports listed above.
OPPORTUNITIES
- Older Americans With Money Are Spending It
- Agriculture, Government, and Hospitality: The Big Three Economic Sectors
- Small Businesses Are Growing
CHALLENGES, THREATS, AND WARNINGS
- Supply of Housing Remains Far Behind Demand
- A Local Economy Based on Commodities (Such as Agricultural Crop Production) Means Dramatic Ebbs and Flows in Output, Employment, and Tax Receipts
- Risk of Sudden Shift in Labor and Capital from Prosperous Sectors to New Emerging Economic Sectors
- The “Missing Middle” Is Missing in Many Ways - Housing, Income, Education, and Age
- Propagation of Idealized Government Programs and Plans That Sound Promising But Are Counter to Economic Reality
- Retail Vacancy Rates Have Remained Relatively High Since Late 2019
- The County’s Population Is Aging and the County’s Population Is Stagnant
SOLUTIONS
- “Moving Up the Ag-Value Chain” - Emphasis on “Ag-Tech.”
- Tourism Has Potential to Expand (But New Jobs Will Be Taken at the Expense of Other Economic Subsectors)
- More Support for Small Businesses
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