DEC. 10, 2013: Kyra Morris introduced our speakers Bryan Derreberry and Steve Warner by telling the club how fortunate we are to have two men so dedicated to their work serving in their roles: “Bryan Derenberry, as President & CEO of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, and Steve Warner, as Vice President, Global Marketing / Regional Competitiveness, fully believe in their work and do a tremendous job, in making Charleston a wonderful place to live and work.”
Derreberry and Warner’s mission is “to focus on what our economy is doing to assist business leaders by utilizing data and metrics to inform decision making for regional businesses.” They have been tracking data since 2005, using Austin, Texas and Raleigh, NC as benchmarks. While they use Austin and Raleigh as model metros, they are looking at data related to 386 metros in the country. They report that “Charleston’s regional economy is performing well overall, while also undergoing a significant transformation into a more diversified, knowledge-based economy.” Their research reveals the following:
Gross Regional Product Growth from 2005-2011:26.2%.
This number is well above the state average and similar communities in the Southeast. We are competing against 386 metros nationally.
Earnings per worker growth from 2005-2011: 21.5%.
High skill, innovative jobs are continuously being added, to include the grow ing IT sector and aerospace industry (Boeing).
Regional Employment Growth from 2005-2012: 11.5%.
This is double the growth of Charleston’s peer group.
Exports Share of GRP, 2012: 14.5% or 3.9 billion.
Charleston ranks among the Top 25 Metros in United States for Exports.
According to the 2013 Regional Economic Scorecard, our future success depends on four (4) competitiveness inputs, which are: human capital, innovative activity, entrepreneurial environment, and quality of place.
Human Capital: The Charleston Metro area is competing nationally based on talent. They reported that Charleston trended positively during the Great Recession. We need more highly skilled high school graduates with a focus on science and mathematics.
Innovative Activity: This is the lifeblood for the economy and the only ranking in which we are below the national average. Our main challenge is finding the capital to fund startups: “The bright spot in these numbers is that we now have a higher percentage of IT jobs than both Austin and Raleigh. The Angel Investor Act is helping tremendously.”
Entrepreneurial Environment: This is one of our best numbers, primarily due to Boeing. For this number to improve, “we must ensure that South Carolina’s regulatory environment continues to support business growth.”
Quality of Place: We rank well nationally, “which is a step up although there is still room for improvement. We have seen a decrease in crime in the region however our crime rate remains high compared to other metros.”
Derreberry and Warner believe that our challenge areas are: Population growth, housing affordability and travel congestion. We have outstripped growth in the United States and are the second fastest growing metro behind Austin, Texas. Forty new people are moving into the region every day, with an anticipated one million people in the Charleston metro area by 2027. With this population growth, we now rank #68 with regard to congestion.
Derreberry and Warner said that transportation infrastructure must be addressed in addition to the following sustainability factors: Education, Innovation, Talent. “We have fierce competition, considering that Virginia and North Carolina, in close proximity, are some of the most productive states in the nation. Thus, we have to focus on talent. The Charleston Aerospace Industry and IT workforce are among the fastest growing in the country. We have made investments in talent, with a long term pipeline of talent.” “Jack Jones at Boeing will tell you that they are making fifty year decisions and have to know that Charleston will have talent for the years to come.” This would not be possible without the hard work, knowledge and insight of Brian Derreberry and Steve Warner.
For more information, visit: www.crda.org/economicscoreboard
Submitted by Abby Saunders, Keyway Committee