Rhode Island’s economy is making strides in all key areas, a new “scorecard” from the R.I. Economic Policy Council shows, with median income improvements, continued private job growth, high-wage industry growth and more employment opportunities for local residents.
The 2005/2006 Economic Performance Scorecard, unveiled at the council’s Dec. 2 meeting, rates the state’s progress as good in all four of those areas – an improvement from the “red flag” ratings given last year for income and job opportunities.
The scorecard measures progress toward four specific goals:
*To increase Rhode Island’s median household income to parity with Massachusetts; the latest U.S. Census figures show the Bay State’s median 2003-04 income was $52,347, 11.3 percent higher than Rhode Island’s $47,021. But Rhode Island was also one of only six states to show a statistically significant increase (4 percent) between 2002-03 and 2003-04.
*To maintain a similar job growth rate as the tri-state Boston metro area; in fact, the scorecard says, Rhode Island had the best growth rate in the Boston metro area (last year, however, the difference was more pronounced, and the score was “excellent”).
*To achieve at least 87 jobs in Rhode Island for every 100 residents in the labor force; last year, the state got a “red flag” for having only 82 jobs per 100 residents, but this year it’s 85, on par with New Hampshire (though below the Bay State’s 92).
*To close the gap between Rhode Island’s share of the region’s work force and its share of high-wage jobs by 2010. Rhode Island is improving on this front, the scorecard says, “but we need to pick up the pace of job creation in high-wage clusters to meet the 2010 goal.”
The card shows that between 2001 and 2004 Rhode Island saw 5-percent gains in low- and high-wage jobs, and a 1-percent drop in middle-wage jobs. Southeastern Massachusetts, by contrast, lost 9 percent of its high-wage jobs while gaining 5 percent and 2 percent, respectively, in the low and middle ranges.
*To eliminate the “brain drain” of local college graduates and other talented people.
The scorecard doesn’t include a specific measure of the latter, but a narrative section cites several strides made toward making Rhode Island more appealing to bright minds.
It cites the concept of “Innovation@Scale” introduced by the R.I. Economic Development Corporation in 2003 – a pitch that Rhode Island’s small size makes it a perfect test bed for business innovation – and the creation of the Business Innovation Factory, a program that encourages collaborative innovation across disciplines.
Embracing innovation as the state’s “fundamental economic imperative” is key, the scorecard says, because “to grow high-wage jobs, we need to have an economic and cultural environment that fosters the innovative companies that create them.”
In an interview, Christopher L. Bergstrom, executive director of the Economic Policy Council, said the scorecard shows the state’s new strategies are paying off, and he highlighted the accomplishments of the EDC in particular.
The state’s progress is due to “a number of things,” he said, “but I guess the one I would pull out is that we’ve had strong and stable leadership at the EDC, in contrast to its first seven years, when you had five directors. In the last three years, you’ve had one director [Michael McMahon], and he’s brought in a strong team. The results show.”
Rhode Island still has plenty to do to meet its goals, Bergstrom said, and any weakening of the economic development leadership could set the state back.
On the goal of raising the median income, for example, Rhode Island has done well, he said, but “you want to keep going up. It’s not enough to create jobs – you want them to be enough to support a person, so I think there’s always room for improvement.”
