Dead Last

For those who have retired here, Worcester County is a very pleasant place to live.  We have beautiful beaches at Ocean City, where we can enjoy the resort life, and at Assateague National Seashore Park (pictured above) where we can enjoy the solitude and beauty of the ocean and the shore.  We have beautiful coastal bays, the ocean, lots of parks and an attractive and well-preserved rural landscape.  We also have a cost of living that is quite low compared to the nearby metropolitan areas many have moved from.

But it's not so pleasant if you have to work in Worcester for a living.  Take a look at this chart. 

This chart is for December, 2007 and comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). As you can see, Worcester County leads Delmarva in unemployment...and not by just a little.  Of course, unemployment is higher in Worcester every year at this time because employment here in the hospitality industry and in agriculture is largely seasonal.  Our January unemployment rate is even higher at 10.5 percent. 

But wait.  These other counties have large seasonal industries too.  Summer visitors on the Shore are not unique to Worcester County.  And most of the other counties here have large agricultural economies.

Let's look at another chart that gives an even better idea of the economic situation here.

If you can't see it clearly, click on the map to make it bigger.  This chart, also from BLS shows is that Worcester County has the lowest average weekly wage of any county in Maryland - lower than Somerset, lower than Dorchester and lower than the Western Maryland counties of Alleghany and Garrett.

So, we have the highest unemployment rate on Delmarva (and the highest in Maryland by far) and the lowest average wage in the state.  And yet, it's such a nice place to live.  So what gives?

Most of the employment in Worcester County is in the 'hospitality' industry.  This includes a raft of low-paying occupations such as housekeeper, waitress, bartender, etc.  A bunch more jobs used to be in the construction industry, but that's pretty much collapsed here, as it has in other parts of the country. 

A look at major employers in Worcester County shows The Harrison Group leading the way, followed by Atlantic General Hospital, Wal-Mart, Clarion Resort Fontanbleau, Candy Kitchen, Super Fresh and Castle in the Sand Hotel.  Except for Atlantic General, which probably pays some decent wages, all of these are either in the hotel/restaurant business or retail; not a recipe for high wages.

Other counties on the Lower Shore have large employers to anchor employment year round and to provide good, steady wages.  Somerset has UMES, Lankford Sysco Food Services, McCready Hospital and Rubberset Manufacturing.  Wicomico is even better with Peninsula Regional Medical Center employing almost 3,000 and Perdue and Salisbury University each employing more than 1,500.  It also has a thriving electronics assembly industry.  Dorchester has a hospital, Allen Family Foods and a smally bevy of manufacturing companies anchored by Cambridge International.

To make Worcester County a good place to live for all its citizens, not just the retirees or others with outside income, the county needs to find a way to attract solid, year-round employment.  Is anybody doing anything about this?

      

Comments

[ShoreThings]

I would have bet that Somerset ranked lower on all counts.