Apr. 9, 2008 at 7:13am
Researchers from a Texas consulting firm told members of the city council and concerned citizens in separate meetings Tuesday that downtown Tacoma's economic contribution to the whole city and surrounding Pierce County is vast --- and growing.
Angelou Economics concluded that the area bounded by Hilltop neighborhoods and Thea Foss Waterway and bookended by Tacoma Dome and Stadium District contains more than 38 percent of all jobs within the city. And these 43,482 workers are responsible for $4.8 billion in economic output, while earning $1.9 billion in labor income. Both those figures have grown substantially since 1995, as downtown rebuilds and adds housing units.
Given the area studied, which included both major hospital neighborhods as well as county and city headquarters, Health Services and Government agencies account for nearly one of every two jobs counted. Financial Services employment generates $526 million in income, while positions in Business and Professional Services add $327 million.
Despite its two largest employment sectors not contributing anything in tax revenues (because they are non-profits and government), Downtown Tacoma companies still generated more than $6 million in B&O taxes. This is more than 20 percent of the entire B&O total collected by Tacoma, coming from less than 4 percent of the entire land area in the city.
The contracted expert team will next move to identify target sectors for city economic development efforts and develop marketing plans for each. To read the report, visit www.cityoftacoma.org/downtownstrategy.
Posted in BE Daily, Health care, Pierce County by Jeff Rounce | Email Jeff
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