City makes top-100 list

Though it rose in Milken ranking, more needs to be done, leaders say

Credit: Journal File Photo

The economy in the Winston-Salem metropolitan statistical area has been undergoing change for years.

By: Richard Craver | JOURNAL REPORTER
Published: September 13, 2008

Winston-Salem has moved closer toward reaching an ambitious national economic goal.

But local officials said yesterday that there's much work left to do even after the Winston-Salem metropolitan statistical area was ranked for the first time among the top 100 best-performing cities in the nation.

The index has been compiled since 2003 by the Milken Institute, a research group in California. It ranks 200 metropolitan areas based on economic growth, including both long-term and short-term measurements of employment and salary growth and indicators of high-tech output.

The Winston-Salem MSA -- which consists of Davie, Forsyth, Stokes and Yadkin counties -- was ranked 99th overall, up from 128th in 2007. The area improved in seven of nine categories from the 2007 report.

By comparison, the Greensboro-High Point MSA -- which consists of Guilford, Randolph and Rockingham counties -- slid to 141st from 136th in 2007.

The Raleigh-Cary MSA was the highest-ranking region in the state at second. It was 10th in 2007.

The institute cautioned that the 2008 index was affected by the severity of the housing crisis on several metropolitan areas in California and Florida that typically dominate the rankings.

"Given that our economy still is converting from one that was heavily manufacturing-oriented to one that is knowledge-based, we expect to see our efforts continue to pay dividends in future years," said Gayle Anderson, the president and chief executive of the Greater Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce.

"Winston-Salem has been focused on its economic transformation for nearly two decades, which has given us an advantage over other Triad communities which began their transitions much later," she said.

The Milken report became a prominent measuring stick of the Triad economy in 2003. At that time, Winston-Salem, Greensboro and High Point were combined for federal data purposes.

After being ranked 165th because of major manufacturing-job losses, the Triad's three major chambers of commerce pledged to get the region into the top 50 by 2010 by cooperating more on economic-development projects and improving local work-force skills.

Chamber and local economic officials said that the goal remains achievable over time. But they insist that it requires continued regional cooperation on long-term projects, such as the Piedmont Triad Research Park in downtown Winston-Salem, and HondaJet and the FedEx Corp. hub at Piedmont Triad International Airport.

The Milken report comes out during a week in which one of the Triad's largest employers, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., announced Tuesday it is eliminating 570 white-collar positions by early 2010.

On Thursday, Allen Joines, the mayor of Winston-Salem, challenged business leaders and politicians at the annual State of the Community presentation to help the local economy gain a net 35,000 jobs in 10 years. The presentation was sponsored by the Winston-Salem chamber. Joines did not give any specific details for how to accomplish the goal.

The bright spot for the Winston-Salem MSA in the Milken index was a No. 18 ranking for gross domestic product from its high-tech sector from 2002 to 2006, primarily related to jobs created at Dell Inc.'s plant in Forsyth County and at the research park.

However, Winston-Salem ranked 176th in concentration of high-tech industries in 2007, 158th for wage and salary growth from 2001 to 2006, and 148th for wage and salary growth from 2005 to 2006.

"Winston-Salem definitely benefited from having a more stable employment base, even with the recent increase in the unemployment rate, compared with other metros," said Armen Bedroussian, a regional economist for the institute.

"Winston-Salem also has shown improvement in its medical fields, aerospace and research and high-tech research and development," Bedroussian said.

The Greensboro-High Point MSA improved its ranking in four categories, lost ground in four and was unchanged in one.

"Although recently we are doing better in job creation, our wages and salaries are somewhat stagnant," said Dan Lynch, the president of Greensboro Economic Development Alliance.

"Looking at the ranking for technology based GDP, I would guess Winston-Salem is realizing the benefit of Dr. Anthony Atala's advanced medical research and all the great things going on at the Piedmont Triad Research Park," Lynch said. Atala is the director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine

"The bottom line," Lynch said, "is for the last several years, the Triad communities have been rebuilding their economies to respond to the realization that the future lies in leveraging the strengths of our colleges and universities to create knowledge-based employment opportunities across a broad spectrum of industry sectors."

■ Richard Craver can be reached at 727-7376 or at rcraver@wsjournal.com.