Measuring the Impact of New Industry in Town

Skill Building

Many factors determine the total impact of a new industry on a community. These factors include: type of new industry, wage rates at the new plant, availability of local labor, availability of local shopping facilities, support services demanded by the new plant, and the local transportation network.

Economic developers often respond to questions from local officials and citizens about the number of additional jobs created and how much did income and wages expand in the county's economy as a result? Few would argue with the validity of these questions since most cities and counties rely on public resources to promote economic development.

Typically, local officials learned from economic developers about a new plant's desire to locate in the town. The level of employment and wage impacts will depend on the type of positions (high-tech or low-tech) created by the new plant. Local officials want to know what kind of economic impact the plant will have if they decide to invest the new plant?

This workshop will address these and other questions about the economic impact of a new firm in town. The workshop will take a real example and show participants how to analyze and present local decision makers simple results about how a new firm might impact their community.