Room to grow in job market

Slower job growth is still growth.

That’s the fact to focus on from a Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce study of last year’s business trends.

The greater area posted a 2.5 percent gain in jobs last year. The number reflects the economic slowdown that already had begun to take hold.

In 2006, area jobs grew by 3.5 percent.

But being on the plus side of the column is good news, indeed. More jobs created means more economic activity overall, creating a ripple effect through the local economy.

More jobs suggests a healthier tax base. Certainly the state would receive more revenue in income taxes, but job growth also indicates that healthy businesses are generating other revenues, such as sales taxes, that come back to the locality.

More jobs potentially means less drain on public resources in the form of social services. Fewer people need aid in the form of unemployment payments or other assistance.

Although the region gained overall, some localities lost private-sector jobs, according to the self-reported Chamber data. Fluvanna and Nelson counties and the city of Charlottesville lost jobs, said the report, although Charlottesville’s assistant director of economic development said he questioned some of the data.

That leaves Albemarle, Greene and Louisa counties with enough job growth to counteract the negative numbers from their neighbors and to account for the overall 2.5 percent boost.

Also overall, the region saw a slight decline in construction jobs. That’s to be expected, considering the slowdown in the housing and new construction markets.

The loss was more than offset by gains in the leisure and hospitality and the business and professional services sectors. That also was no surprise — nationwide, the economy still is becoming more service oriented.

Although the growth number can legitimately be given a positive spin, that doesn’t mean area leaders can be complacent. Some areas seem to be doing even better than the greater Charlottesville region, despite the economy, and we should be looking into that.

If they are successfully competing with us for jobs, then we need to know why and what to do about it.

The region has typically been shielded from the most volatile aspects of a changing economy due to power of the University of Virginia and to some extent, more recently, major installations such as the National Ground Intelligence Center. Stable employers smooth out the bumps on the road for the economy as a whole.

We can be thankful for that security without taking it for granted.

We’re still creating jobs, yes. Now, how can we do better?