Laserfiche WebLink
<br /> 3 <br />Total employment is one metric for measuring industry strength. Industry concentration is <br />another. A location quotients shows the ratio of jobs in an industry in a county to the ratio of jobs <br />in the nation. A higher location quotient indicates a higher percent (concentration) of jobs in an <br />industry compared to national averages. Sherburne County, for example, has nearly 6 times as <br />many utilities industry jobs as compared to the nation, making it a relative strength. An increase <br />in location quotient from 2001 indicates the number of jobs and relative strength is growing. A <br />decline indicates the opposite. <br />Industries with high location quotients in the county include utilities, manufacturing, and <br />construction (Table 1). <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Health care and manufacturing posted strong growth. <br /> <br />It is also important to consider the way the number of jobs in different industries change. The job <br />changes in an industry can be compared to industry and national trends. This type of comparison <br />is called shift-share analysis and the results can help decision makers understand which <br />industries were competitive. It can also provide insight into whether changes could be influenced <br />by local policies. <br />Industries with strong growth in Sherburne County in the past two decades include health care <br />and manufacturing (Table 2). Both industries in Sherburne County grew at rates higher than <br />predicted, given national trends. For example, industry trends would indicate that Sherbur ne <br />County should have lost 1,066 manufacturing jobs. The industry in the county, however, gained <br />1,106 jobs in the time period. <br />Source: EMSI, Inc.