The U.S. Census Bureau last week issued its annual report of county business patterns for all counties in the nation, showing employment and payroll activities through the end of 2016 for private sector companies.
In Washington County, the data shows a continuation of ups and downs in industry sectors established for the past decade.
The data does not include government jobs, including public school teachers, or agricultural workers. It is established from several reporting sources, but some employees working in Washington County might not be included because their payroll information is reported elsewhere, and some employees working in another location might be reported through payroll data issued by a company headquartered in Washington County.
The data also does not include single proprietorships, but it does include nonprofit and not-for-profit organizations that have payrolls.
The economically crucial mining sector, which includes oil and gas industry jobs, shows about the same number of companies and fewer jobs, but payrolls have continued to rise and the annual compensation per job has stayed well above the rate of inflation: In 2005, 42 companies reported 383 employees in Washington County with an annual payroll total of $32 million; in 2016 there were 43 such operations with 314 employees, an 11-year decline of 18 percent, and a total payroll of $31.5 million, an increase of 153 percent. The compensation per job rose to just over $100,000 per year, an increase of more than 200 percent.
The rate of inflation during the same 11-year period was about 22 percent.
Andy Kuhn, executive director of the Southeastern Ohio Port Authority, the economic development agency for Washington County, said oil and gas is the most volatile job sector in the local economy because it depends on drilling activity, which is driven by world markets constantly in flux.
Manufacturing companies during the same time frame went down from 101 in 2005 to 83 in 2016 and dropped about 1,000 jobs, a reduction of 23 percent. The sector payroll amounted to $226 million, an increase of 13 percent, and the annual compensation per job went to $68,000 per year, an increase of 47 percent.
Kuhn said much of the dropoff in manufacturing jobs can be attributed to increased efficiency.
"A lot of our businesses have been operating for quite a while and they're becoming more and more efficient every day, which is going to result in some overall job decrease," he said. "However, their product lines continue to be some of the best in the world, and they're targeting the future expansion, thinking of additional products."
Kuhn said one study showed that the same production that required 1,000 workers in 1950 now requires only 170.
In construction, the number of firms declined slightly but the number of jobs increased by about 7 percent to just more than 1,700, with an average pay of $51,250 per position. The total value in 2016 of construction payrolls was $87.2 million, and increase of 60 percent over the 11-year period.
Bill Hutchinson, business manager for the Parkersburg-Marietta Building and Construction Trades Council, said the sector has been holding its own over the years and has bright future prospects.
"There has been talk of several gas-fired power plants, one in Monroe County, and a lot of talk of oil and gas bringing some industry in," he said. "My understanding is that there are a lot of people looking at that. This area has everything they need -- people, oil and gas, land."
The establishment of one or more cracker plants would provide a local supply of raw material for the plastics industry, he said, and one is under consideration for Belmont County.
"It would provide the base materials that plants here already use, but they're bringing them in from the Gulf Coast and other areas," Hutchinson said. "I think you would see them expand. The Solvay plant at Waverly is already looking at $70 to 80 million in additions."
Most of the tradespeople represented by the union are working at industrial concerns, he said, but other forms of construction are on the horizon, including new schools in Vincent and Williamstown.
Transportation and warehousing saw solid growth of 56 percent in the number of jobs, going from 499 to 781 jobs during 11 years and payroll more than doubling from $16.8 million to $34.2 million.
The finance and insurance sector and real estate, rental and leasing both experienced declines in the number of jobs in the 25 percent to 33 percent range. Although the compensation per job in finance and insurance nearly doubled during the period, real estate total payroll declined by 11 percent. The compensation per job in that sector went up by 33 percent.
Health care and social services saw a consolidation effect, with the number of establishments declining from 151 to 134, but the number of jobs increasing by 46 percent to 5,458, making it the largest single employment sector in the county. At the same time, the payroll increased to $188 million, but the compensation per job increased by only 16 percent, suggesting that many of the jobs in the sector are part time.
The data includes both full-time and part-time employees.
Kuhn said the lag in wages in the health care and social services sector can be attributed largely to expansion in home health care services.
"It's lower because of the aging population on a multi-county basis and more and more in-home health care needs, and that's a bit of a different salary scale from your registered nurses and physicians assistants," he said. "As we continue to serve that demographic, people that need care in home, that trend is probably going to stay with us."
Accommodation and food services remained the lowest-paying field in the report, with average compensation per job at just under $13,000 per year, up 25 percent over 11 years and barely ahead of the rate of inflation. The report does not, however, include tips, which for restaurant servers often comprise up to 75 percent of compensation. The sector growth was lackluster, with three fewer establishments than there were 11 years ago and 2,233 employees, an increase of about 10 percent.
Retail trade was sluggish, with a 10 percent decline in the number of jobs, a 21 percent increase in payroll and a 35 percent increase in average annual pay per job to $24,602. The total payroll for the 229 establishments in the sector was $73.5 million.
Hospitality and retail growth, with the local population stagnant, are dependent on tourism for growth, and the tourism figures in Marietta have been in decline for the past few years, said Deana Clark, executive director of the Marietta-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The two-member staff at the CVB reaches out through online and social media work, promoting the area at travel trade shows and personal contact with convention organizers to promote the attractions and facilities in the area.
"We are a premier overnight lodging destination, we have great restaurants and great shopping venues," Clark said. "For conventions, when I get an opportunity to submit an RFP (request for proposal), I do it. I send out flyers, emails, I make phone calls, tell people, 'If you're looking for 500 rooms, we're your place.'"
Clark, who started in the position in December, said historically the funding for the bureau has been reduced as it receives a lower proportion of the bed tax charged by hotels, a revenue source used by most cities to promote tourism. Staffing at the bureau, she said, has been reduced from five to two.
"Our city needs to take a seriously hard look at what investing dollars does," she said. "You have to really spend money to keep Marietta and Washington County in the forefront of people's minds."
Despite the decline in the number of jobs, the manufacturing sector still had the largest overall payroll, $226 million.
Overall, private sector jobs in the county grew by 1.8 percent during the 11-year period to 22,761, while total payroll increased to $961.9 million, an increase of 49 percent. The average pay per job increased by 46.8 percent to $42,260.
Highlights, county business patterns,
U.S. Census
Washington County, 2005-2016
¯ Manufacturing jobs: -23 percent.
¯ Manufacturing payroll: +13 percent.
¯ Construction jobs: +7 percent.
¯ Construction payroll: +60 percent.
¯ Health care and social services jobs: +46 percent.
¯ Health care and social services payroll: +70 percent.
¯ Accommodation and food services jobs: +10 percent.
¯ Accommodation and food services payroll: +38 percent.
¯ Retail trade jobs: -9 percent.
¯ Retail trade payroll: +22 percent.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.