SECTION E. ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
INTRODUCTION
The
economic analysis section will discuss the economic trends of the past years
in the areas of labor statistics, unemployment, employment distribution, and
income. This section will provide an
insight into Lee County’s economic base and how it is related to the State of
Iowa. This section will also give
insight to which sectors will continue to bring in revenue to the county.
LABOR FORCE STATISTICS
As Table 13 shows, in 1990 there were
18,290 (61 percent) people that were in the labor force out of the 29,878
people who were 16 years of age and over.
Fifty-one percent of these people in the labor pool were from Ft.
Madison and Keokuk. Iowa’s labor
force has a higher percentage of people in the labor force than Lee County’s,
with 66 percent, of the people that are 16 and over in the labor force.
Table 13:
Labor Force Status, 1990
|
|
State
|
Lee County
|
Ft. Madison
|
Keokuk
|
|
Persons
16 years and over:
|
2,131,703
|
29,878
|
9,253
|
9,506
|
|
Males 16 years and over:
|
1,013,757
|
14,296
|
4,659
|
4,167
|
|
Females 16 years and over:
|
117,946
|
15,582
|
4,594
|
5,339
|
|
Total Persons in labor force:
|
1,406,503
|
18,290
|
5,216
|
5,625
|
|
Males in Labor force
|
759,871
|
9,921
|
2,741
|
2,971
|
|
Females in Labor force
|
646,632
|
8,369
|
2,475
|
2,654
|
|
Civilian labor force total:
|
1,403,883
|
18,245
|
5,216
|
5,580
|
|
Male-Civilian labor force
|
757,590
|
9,876
|
2,741
|
2,926
|
|
Females- Civilian labor force
|
646,293
|
8,369
|
2,475
|
2,654
|
|
Armed Forces total:
|
2,620
|
45
|
0
|
45
|
|
Males- Armed Forces
|
2,281
|
45
|
0
|
45
|
|
Females- Armed Forces
|
339
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Total not in the labor force
|
725,200
|
11,588
|
4,037
|
3,881
|
|
Males not in labor force
|
253,886
|
4,375
|
1,918
|
1,196
|
|
Females not in labor force
|
471,314
|
7,213
|
2,119
|
2,685
|
Source:
U.S. Census of Population and Housing1990
Figures
6 and 7 show the employment percentages per industry for 1990 for Lee County
and Iowa. As illustrated, the majority
of employed persons in Iowa and Lee County are in trade, manufacturing, and
services industries. Lee County’s
largest industry is manufacturing with 29 percent of its labor force working
in that industry, while Iowa’s is service with 33 percent.
Source: U.S. Census 1990
Source: U.S. Census
As
Table 14 indicates, Lee County has a higher percentage of workers in Operations,
Fabricators and Laborers; Precision Production, Craft and Repair; and
services than Iowa. Lee County does
have a lower percentage of workers in Farming, Forestry and Fishing;
Managerial and Professional; and Technical, Sales and Administration than the
State of Iowa.
Table 14:
Occupation for Lee County and Iowa
|
Occupation
|
Iowa
|
Lee
County
|
|
Employed persons 16 years and over
|
1,340,242
|
17,072
|
|
Managerial
and Professional
|
299,256
|
22.3%
|
3,001
|
17.6%
|
|
Technical,
Sales and Administration
|
393,855
|
29.4%
|
4,271
|
25.0%
|
|
Service
|
195,177
|
14.6%
|
2,602
|
15.2%
|
|
Farming,
Forestry and Fishing
|
93,780
|
7.0%
|
781
|
4.6%
|
|
Precision
Production, Craft, and Repair
|
140,903
|
10.5%
|
2,105
|
12.3%
|
|
Operators,
Fabricators and Laborers
|
217,271
|
16.2%
|
4,312
|
25.3%
|
Source:
U.S. Census, 1990
In Table 15 the percentage change in the number
of farms and the change of the average farm sizes in Lee County and the State
of Iowa are revealed. According to
the table, the percentage change for the number of farms between 1978-1999
shows that Lee County (-21.2 percent) lost slightly more farms than Iowa
(-20.7 percent). The greatest loss of
farms for Lee County happened during 1979-1984 with a –7.1 percent loss. Iowa had the greatest loss of farmland in
1984-1989.
Table 15:
Percentage Change of Number of Farms and Average Size
|
Percentage Change in the
Number of Farms
|
|
|
1978-1999
|
1994-1999
|
1989-1994
|
1984-1989
|
1979-1984
|
|
Lee
County
|
-21.2
|
-6.6
|
-3.1
|
-6.7
|
-7.1
|
|
State
of Iowa
|
-20.7
|
-5
|
-3.8
|
-7.1
|
-6.6
|
|
|
Percentage Change in Average Size (in Acres)
|
|
|
1978-1999
|
1994-1999
|
1989-1994
|
1984-1989
|
1979-1984
|
|
Lee
County
|
24.4
|
6.5
|
1.7
|
7.1
|
7.3
|
|
State
of Iowa
|
23.3
|
4.9
|
2.8
|
7.4
|
6.5
|
Source:
Iowa Counties; Selected Population Trends, Vital Statistics, and
Socioeconomic Data, ISU 2000
The above table also shows how
the number of farms has gone down, while the average size in acres has
increased. Farms in Lee County have
increased by 24.4 percent, while Iowa had an average gain of 23.3 percent. The greatest increase of the average size
of the farms are the same years that Lee County and the State of Iowa
experienced their greatest percentage change in the number of farms.
The
large majority of the companies that are listed in Table 16 produce material
for larger corporations that ship their products worldwide, and are based in
Ft. Madison and Keokuk. Therefore,
any major policy change or downturns in the national economy has an impact on
Lee County and to these companies and their employees. This has already been seen in 1999.
Table 16:
Top Employers by Employment in Lee County 1999
|
BTR Keokuk
|
APAC Customer Services Inc
|
|
The Dial Corporation
|
Wal-Mart Stores Inc
|
|
Roquette America
|
E I DuPont de Nemours & Company Inc
|
|
Keokuk Area Hospital
|
Amsted Industries Inc
|
|
Keokuk Steel Castings Company Inc
|
ShopKo Stores Inc
|
|
Catfish bend Casinos LC
|
Taske Force Inc
|
|
Sheaffer Pen Corporation
|
Gleason Corporation
|
|
Hy-Vee Food Stores Inc
|
Svedala Industries Inc
|
|
Fort Madison Community Hospital
|
Four M. Paper Corporation
|
Source: Iowa Workforce
Development, Policy and Information Division
Stone
Container Corporation and Fruehauf Trailer Service Inc. were included in this
list based on the Annual 1999 Employment by Private Industry, but due to the
fact that Stone Container Corporation closed in 2000 and Fruehauf Trailer
Service Inc. closed towards the end of 2001 these two companies were removed
from the list.
Unemployment
Table
17 shows the 1990 unemployment rate for Lee County is higher than Iowa. Also according to the table, females have
a higher unemployment percentage than males in Lee County.
Table 17: Unemployment in Lee County and Iowa,
1990
|
