25 minute read
By Ashlyn Grey
Huntsville Sees 1.4% Wage Increase While Alabama is Ranked with 15th Smallest Wage Increase
By Ashlyn Grey / Photos courtesy of Smartest Dollar / The Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics
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On the surface, the economy of the last two years has been extremely favorable to workers. After spiking to nearly 15% early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment rate today sits around 3.6%. Despite employers’ urgency to hire, labor force participation has been slower to recover, and the “Great Resignation” has workers quitting at historic rates in search of better jobs.
With these factors contributing to a tight labor market, workers have more choice of job opportunities, and more employers have been raising wages to hire and retain employees. As a result, nominal wages are growing faster than at any point in at least two decades.
But rising inflation over the course of 2021 and 2022 has taken a bite out of rising wages. Year-over-year inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, has hovered around or above 8% for much of 2022. Prices for essential expenses like food, shelter, and energy have skyrocketed due to supply challenges. With prices rising so quickly, workers are discovering that their increased pay does not go as far as they had hoped.
While nominal wages continue to rise to record heights, inflationadjusted wages have shown signs of decline. In non-adjusted dollars, average weekly wages spiked to $1,339 in the last quarter of 2020 and rose again to $1,418 in the last quarter of 2021. But in inflation-adjusted dollars, wages actually decreased by 0.8% over that span, from $1,429 to $1,418.
Non-adjusted wage growth looks strong across the economy, but some industries have done a better job keeping pace with inflation than others. Notably, the leisure and hospitality industry—which has felt the effects of the Great Resignation more than any
The effects of inflation on wages have also varied by geography. While all 50 states showed at least some increase in non-adjusted wages between 2020 and 2021, only 13 saw a real increase after adjusting for inflation. And among those, New Hampshire (5.2% inflation-adjusted increase) and
other sector—has been raising wages quickly to keep workers.
Leisure and hospitality jobs saw non-adjusted wages increase by more than 10% and adjusted wages increase by 3.5% from the end of 2020 to the end of 2021. But for many other sectors of the economy, inflation has wiped out wage gains completely. Fields including manufacturing, construction, and education and health services all saw declines in inflationadjusted wages from 2020 to 2021. Florida (2.8%) stand out as the only states whose workers experienced inflation-adjusted wage increases above 1% from the end of 2020 to the end of 2021.
At the metro level, most of the cities whose workers have fared best in the face of inflation have been booming cities like Raleigh, Denver, Austin, and Nashville. These cities have been attracting workers with thriving economies that offer ample opportunity for good-paying jobs, along with relatively low cost of living compared to many other major cities—two factors that can help in beating inflation.
The data used in an analysis from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages was used to determine the locations where pay is rising the fastest, researchers at Smartest Dollar—a review website for small business insurance—calculated the non-adjusted percentage change in wages from Quarter 4 of 2020 to Quarter 4 of 2021. In the event of a tie, the location with the greater non-adjusted total change in weekly wages from Quarter 4 of 2020 to Quarter 4 of 2021 was ranked higher.
To improve relevance, only metropolitan areas with at least 100,000 residents were included. Additionally, metros were grouped into cohorts based on population size: small (100,000–349,999), midsize (350,000–999,999), and large (1,000,000 or more). Note: only locations with complete data available during this time period were considered in this analysis.
While part of the analysis found that average weekly wages in the Huntsville metro area experienced a year-over-year increase of 1.4%. Here is a summary of the data for the Huntsville, AL metro area: • Non-adjusted percentage change in wages (YoY): +1.4% • Inflation-adjusted percentage change in wages (YoY): -4.9% • Non-adjusted total change in
weekly wages (YoY): +$20 • Average weekly wages Q4 2021: $1,413 • Average weekly wages Q4 2020: $1,393
This analysis also revealed that average weekly wages in Alabama experienced a year-over-year increase of 4.9%. However, out of all states, Alabama saw the 15th smallest wage increase during the study period. Here is a summary of the data for Alabama: • Non-adjusted percentage change in wages (YoY): +4.9% • Inflation-adjusted percentage change in wages (YoY): -1.7% • Non-adjusted total change in weekly wages (YoY): +$54 • Average weekly wages Q4 2021: $1,153 • Average weekly wages Q4 2020: $1,099
For reference, here are the statistics for the entire United States: • Non-adjusted percentage change in wages (YoY): +5.9% • Inflation-adjusted percentage change in wages (YoY): -0.8% • Non-adjusted total change in weekly wages (YoY): +$79 • Average weekly wages Q4 2021: $1,418 • Average weekly wages Q4 2020: $1,339
For more information, a detailed methodology, and complete results, you can find the original report on Smartest Dollar’s website: https:// smartestdollar.com/research/citiewhere-pay-is-rising-fastest-in-2022. w
HudsonAlpha's Growth Continues with New Greenhouse and Educational Space
HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology has a new reason to celebrate: the facility recently celebrated the opening of its new 14,000-square-foot state-of-the-art glass greenhouse and laboratory facility with a ribbon cutting ceremony featuring Governor Kay Ivey and a host of leaders in government and business across the region.
Brasfield and Gorrie served as the general contractor for the project, with Fuqua & Partners providing the architectural design.
Located at 1000 Hudson Way on the HudsonAlpha campus, the Greenhouse and Educational Learning Labs is the latest addition to the non-profit Institute’s biotech campus and is the only one of its kind in the nation, with two lab spaces, seven grow rooms, and cutting-edge technology.
The new facility will add significant lab and greenhouse space
By Dawn Suiter / Photos by Dawn Suiter
to HudsonAlpha’s Center for Plant Science and Sustainable Agriculture, further enabling the propagation of research plants to improve existing crops, develop new uses for plants, increase collaborative efforts with other organizations, and develop low cost tools and genomic sequencing to link plant genes.
HudsonAlpha President Neil Lamb, PhD expressed his gratitude to Governor Ivey for her role in bringing about the new addition as well as the follow-on phase next door, the Discovery Life Sciences Global Headquarters, which will employ hundreds of Alabamians when it opens next summer.
Lamb also thanked Mayor Battle for his support and his commitment to growing the biosciences, “making this industry a central part of Huntsville’s economy,” as well as Madison County Commissioner Dale Strong for his “leadership to Madison County and for [his] unswerving dedication to the work of HudsonAlpha.”
“These three leaders believe in our vision and have been advocates on our behalf for many years,” Lamb continued. “They are strong allies for Alabama’s scientific researchers and for the bioscience industry, and they have our thanks,” he said.
Lamb noted during his address that there are 1100 people on the HudsonAlpha campus today, “a number that continues to grow.”
“Today marks a significant milestone in our history–the dream of a greenhouse and associated space began nearly seven years ago as we looked to expand our plant-based research faculty,” Lamb explained, noting that they were actively recruit-
ing faculty investigator Kankshita Swaminathan, PhD at that time.
“Our conversations with her highlighted the opportunities that we could pursue with research-focused greenhouses, test fields for applying those discoveries, a demonstration garden and additional spaces for education and workforce development,” Lamb said.
“Sometimes dreams take a while to become a reality. Today, we cut a ribbon and we bring this one to life.”
Swaminathan also expressed her gratitude to Gov. Ivey: “We appreciate you entrusting this new greenhouse to us, and we promise we will do good with it for the future of plant science, education, and agriculture in Alabama. We are extremely excited for the future,” she said.
HudsonAlpha founder Jim Hudson began by extending his thanks to the attendees, noting that today would have been cofounder Lonnie McMillan’s 94th birthday. With deep emotion in his voice, he added “I know he’d be proud of today’s campus and this amazing greenhouse.”
“Lonnie and I often talked about all the ways we could use genomics to help mankind, and I know Lonnie would be excited about how HudsonAlpha is applying its efforts in genomics to agriculture.”
“When most of us think about HudsonAlpha’s work, they think about how we’re using genomics to improve human health,” Hudson said. “Well, we’ve been remiss, I think, in explaining to the public how much we do in plants and have done from the very beginning.”
Hudson stated that sequencing is “really hard” for plants, noting that it took four years to sequence cotton and an equal amount for the common bean. “Many, many plants are really, really hard and our team, Jeremy [Schmutz] and Jane [Grimwood], led the way in figuring out the technologies and analysis techniques that are recognized around the world in this field. Now we do cotton in a couple of weeks if we’re starting from scratch, so the advancements are just really remarkable.”
“With this state-of-the-art greenhouse and our exceptional faculty, we are positioned to engage with more research partners, to grow Alabama’s existing ag community, and to start AgTech companies that will benefit our farmers,” Hudson continued.
Hudson also stated that HudsonAlpha’s new accelerator program, done in partnership with venture capital program gener8tor Huntsville, will bring new companies from out of the state to Alabama. In addition, HudsonAlpha continues to grow. “Lonnie and I set a goal [of] 3,000 jobs on this campus and we’re well on our way to getting there,” Hudson said, adding that by this time next year Governor Ivey will be back to cut the ribbon on the new Discovery Life Sciences building next door, “one of our best success stories from on the campus. DLS, when they open next year, will have a thousand employees from around the world in 80 countries and hundreds here on the campus. It’s an amazing success story.”
“What we’re celebrating today is what’s possible when we look for ways to actively look for ways to utilize and strengthen our public-private partnerships,” said Gov. Ivey. “This facility is a key to attracting new researchers while also inspiring the next generation of plant scientists.”
Ivey credited Dr. Lamb with getting the state’s STEM Council up and running. “Without the help of everyone here today Alabama would not be making such important and necessary strides in STEM education, which we all know is so critical for our state’s continued success.”
Ivey noted that Alabama has a long history of scientific innovation and stressed the need to continue looking to the future. “We must work together to solve the problems that others deemed impossible to solve. Let’s work to not only move Alabama forward, but also the entire world. Together we can ensure that Alabama will lead the way in innovation. This greenhouse marks yet another exciting chapter in HudsonAlpha’s success story,” she concluded. w
By Mike Easterling / Photos by Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce
Fifteen of the nearly 100 businesses represented were honored with awards this week by the Huntsville/ Madison County Chamber along with two companies inducted into the “Best Places to Work’’ Hall of Fame.
Winners in Gold, Silver and Bronze were honored in five separate categories along with HOF laurels awarded to Modern Technology Solutions and PeopleTec. Those two joined Intuitive Research & Technology Corporation, which was inducted into the inaugural class in 2021.
HOF inductees are companies who have been awarded for 10 straight years in the Chamber’s Best Places to Work award ceremony’s 15year history. Companies selected to the HOF are not eligible to enter the awards contest for at least three years to give others opportunities to win.
“It's been a good tool for companies to use over the years, to improve their culture, to help with employee relations and employee retention,’’ said Claire Aiello, the Chamber’s Vice President of Marketing and Communications.
Awards were given in five divisions based on number of employees – Micro (10-24), Small (25-50), Medium (51-100), Large (101-250) and X-Large (251-plus).
“This is one of our favorite events of the year,’’ said Ashley Engles-Ross, the Chamber’s Vice President of Small Business. “It is wonderful to celebrate companies who value their employees and their feedback – they truly care about creating a culture to make their workplaces inviting and productive. It sets a real example for others to follow, in terms of making these companies places where employees want to stay for the long run.’’
Winners were chosen based on employee surveys returned to the Chamber and tabulated by Quantum Workplace. Winners in each category are listed gold, silver and bronze: • Micro: Peterman and Sons Solutions, JS Solutions LLC, Systems
Technology and Research Inc. • Small: Phased n Research Inc.,
Crossflow Technologies, Mission
Drive Research • Medium: KODA Technologies
Inc., Invariant Corporation, Trivector Services Inc. • Large: Avion, NTA Inc., Thomp-
son Gray Inc. • X-Large: IronMountain Solutions, Integration Innovation
Inc., Radiance Technologies Inc.
“These are companies that listen to their employees and they listen to feedback and they Implement that feedback,’’ Aiello said. “They listen to what their employees think could be better. They make it a priority to listen to their team members who want to work with you. You know, you want to work in a place that does that, you want to work in a place that values your opinion and your feedback and improves. So these companies do that, they care about their employees, they work with them on family matters.’’
Aiello added that is a key ingredient to those honored by Best Places to Work.
“These are companies who put family first,’’ she said. “They understand the parents have concerns with their kids and the company, they work with them. They need some time to be with their children or with their family, but still get the job done. It's just a variety of things that companies do. They listen to their employees about what could be better and they implement change.’’
Aiello added that these companies go beyond to make their employees want to stay.
“Throughout the year, they get
Award winning company Thompson Grey, Inc.
By Mike Easterling / Photos by Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce
feedback when they do an employee survey. That's how (Best Places to Work) is kind of graded. Employees fill out a survey – more than eight thousand or this year.’’
Synovus, represented by Beth Sippel, was the presenting sponsor. The North Alabama chapter of the Society for Human Research Management (NASHRM) was a partner in the event.
PeopleTec was a Gold sponsor. Silver sponsors included KODA, Radiance Technologies, Torch Technologies, Integrated Innovation (i3) and Modern Technology Solutions Inc. (MTSI). Bronze sponsors included 4M Research, Cepeda Systems and Software Analysis, Guidehouse, Hill Technical Solutions, Hyde Homes, QTEC Aerospace, Redstone Federal Credit Union and Redstone Government Consulting.
Representing HOF company MTSI was Executive Vice President Tim King.
“MTSI is extremely honored to be a Best Place to Work in the great city of Huntsville and to be inducted into the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber’s Best Places to Work Hall of Fame. We want to acknowledge our peers and business partners in the Huntsville community. Thank you to the Chamber and Quantum Workplace for facilitating these surveys," said King
“Most importantly, thank you to all of my co-workers at MTSI for fostering our culture where employees come first, where we truly own and solve our customers’ problems and where we live by our core values."
PeopleTec, an employee-owned company, was represented by CEO Terry Jennings.
“It is a privilege and honor to be voted a Best Place to Work for over 10 years by our employee-owners,’’ he said. “PeopleTec provides top-tier benefits and an exceptional workplace culture where the best and the brightest want to work. Our employee-Owners champion the mission to support the Warfighter and offer their technical expertise to improve our nation’s defense.
“PeopleTec is proud to be inducted into the Best Places to Work Hall of Fame this year in recognition of our dedication to our employees and customers. We will continue to work hard for our employee-owners’ vote of confidence.’’
Aiello said companies supporting Best Places to Work use the surveys returned to improve their business model and recruit employees. She said companies like MTSI and PeopleTec have figured out how to use the employee surveys to improve.
“They do it well and we want to honor them with this Hall of Fame,’’ she said.
The Chamber’s efforts are just part of the picture for the Huntsville and surrounding communities that grow by the day.
“We firmly believe that if we work together and we're all in the same direction, we're going to get there a lot faster and a lot more effectively than if we all just, you know, try to do it ourselves,’’ Aiello said. “And this is the thing for our board of directors as well. We've really tried to be engaged on things together. When we go to elected leaders, whether it be a state legislature issue or a congress thing, you know, going to our Congressman, going through the Senators, we really try to go with a united voice.
“That is reflected in our state and federal agendas that we prepare every year, we really try to go with a United voice to ask for something or or you know, you're, you know, work on an issue together.’’
That’s a theme that has worked for Huntsville over decades.
“You're just going to get there a lot more quickly and that goes back to the days of our space program,’’ Aiello said. “What we have done over the years – to get man to the Moon here in Huntsville. That was an example that the rocket team did, they’ve solved some very tough problems over the years.
“So that's kind of been our mindset here. We believe that and we want to keep that tradition going, where if we row in the same direction we're going to get there a lot faster. Whether it be infrastructure challenges or workforce challenges, we try to attack the problem as a team and I think that really helps us get past hurdles.’’
For more information, please visit hsvchamber.org. w
Award winning company Iron Mountain Solutions, Inc. Hall of Fame inductee PeopleTec
Hall of Fame inductee MTSI
‘Sneakerheads’ Moving from Subculture to Business Mainstream
By Mike Easterling / Photos by Steve Babin
The idea seems fantastic – athletic footwear as an alternative asset.
The business of sneakers, or as most people in the South call them tennis shoes regardless of where they’ll be worn, is changing.
In a story that appeared on the media platform Front Office Sports this spring, Liam Killingstad wrote:
“You can’t even really call ‘sneakerheads’ a subculture at this point. The current U.S. sneaker resale market is estimated at $2 billion but expected to blow up 15 times that to $30 billion by 2030. One of the main reasons: value appreciation. Sneakers are increasingly viewed as an alternative asset.’’
The burning question is – how so? • Alternative assets can most broadly be defined as those that fall outside the traditional definition of stocks, bonds, or currency investments. • Over the past several years,
there’s been a “democratization” of access to investments in traditional alternative assets: startups, investment funds, real estate. • The most recent trend is access to investments in culture—new asset classes like sneakers.
Those facts are likely foreign to many ‘sneakerheads.’ What’s not alien to that particular group is a simple concept. They like tennis shoes. “Most people that come in every day are not runners,’’ said Suzzane Taylor, owner of sneaker specialty shop Fleet Feet at Valley Bend on Carl T. Jones Dr. and on Hughes Road in Madison. “About 95 or 90 percent of our customers are not runners.’’
While Fleet Fleet caters to runners and walkers, much of their business comes from people looking for a comfortable shoe.
“On an everyday basis people are looking for shoes to work out in, or go to Disney World in,’’ Taylor said. “They’re going on a trip or their feet hurt at work.’’
Not all sneaker purchases are for comfort. Fashion also plays a big part in footwear selection. While On Cloud is the fashion go-to among the younger customers at Fleet Feet, at urban-oriented City Gear the Air Jordan Retros, Nike Air Force and Kappa slides are popular.
City Gear, at 2250 Sparkman Dr. NW Suite 1400, is partnered with Hibbett Sports.
“We’re pretty much about fashion when it comes to sneakers,’’ City Gear Manager Siabhan Flowers said.
Business of footwear
Statista’s published report on the athletic footwear market indicating that the global “athletic footwear market” reached $127.3 billion in 2021.
The sneaker industry, however, is recovering from supply chain issues that arose in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic that stifled market growth. The disruption in the supply chain was felt globally and drove up
delivery and retail costs.
Those problems appear to be waning.
“We’re in a good position now,’’ Taylor told the Huntsville Business Journal for an earlier story. “All of the shoe manufacturers, for the most part, they may be like three weeks behind on delivery but not six months.’’
Flowers said City Gear, which is merged with Hibbett Sporting Goods, agreed.
“We’re back on track,’’ she said.
As for the business of sneakers, Killingstad wrote that “Platforms such as Alt, SNKRS, Rally Rd, Otis, and GOAT not only allow individuals to purchase a new asset class in a curated manner, but also allow for fractionalized ownership of those very same assets.’’
Regarding Non-Refundable Tokens (NFTs), Killingstad wrote:
“Asics recently partnered with Web3 company STEPN to debut a new line of NFT sneakers that allow owners to earn crypto by moving— aptly referred to as move-to-earn.”
Like play-to-earn, the move-toearn model rewards users in native cryptocurrency for their step count, which is tracked by a GPS-enabled mobile app.
As outlandish as the concept might sound, the company has traction. • According to CoinDesk, STEPN earned $26 million in the first quarter of 2022. • Per Chief Business Officer Shiti
Manghani, the company had 100,000 daily active users as of mid-March, with more than 1 million downloads in total. • The company raised $5 million from Sequoia Capital and others, as well.
Play-to-earn games such as “Axie Infinity” received outsized attention in 2021. Fitness-focused companies like STEPN appear to be emerging next.’’
Sneakers as just sneakers
Many ‘sneakerheads’ have vast collections of shoes.
Many are for function, many are for fashion. And the desire to collect footwear knows no athletic sphere of cultural bounds. Aficionados of tennis, basketball, cleat-based sports and others like to amass footwear options, including runners and fashionistas.
Taylor and one of her assistants guessed they had around 35-40 athletic shoes. A few are for running, the others are for simply walking around.
“And we rotate them,’’ Taylor said. “We get rid of the ones we’re not wearing.’’
Editor’s note: To view the Front Office Sports story regarding sneakerheads visit http.frontofficesports. com/a-top-down-view-of-the-sneaker-economy/. w
New County Courthouse Among Topics at State of the County Address
By Mike Easterling / Image courtesy of Fentress Architects
Huntsville’s downtown square has always been centered by the Madison County Courthouse.
That will no longer be true once a site has been determined to build a new courthouse. And while the destination for the new building that will replace an outdated courthouse that was built in 1964 has not been decided, one thing is certain.
“It will be in downtown Huntsville,’’ Madison County Commission Chairman Dale Strong said at the State of the County address at the Von Braun Center South Hall. “ We’re looking at multiple options, but it will be downtown.’’
The current courthouse sits atop caverns that are part of nearby Big Spring. Strong said trying to pile drive into the surface for a new building is prohibitive, so the building will be razed.
Plans for the land once the building is gone have yet to be determined, but Strong has one suggestion: “It would be great to have a green space in downtown,’’ he said.
Strong added that the county commission would work closely with Mayor Tommy Battle and Downtown Huntsville, Inc., in finding a site and building the new courthouse. Keeping the courthouse in downtown Huntsville is the obvious choice.
“Ten years ago, we had a lot of boarded up buildings in downtown
Huntsville,’’ Strong said. “That is definitely not the case. It’s thriving. You look at the apartments, the living space, the eateries. This is something special with what we have in downtown Huntsville. We only want to make it better.’’
Renovating the current courthouse – which has no hot water, among its faults, and with maintenance and energy costs rising yearly – would be too expensive. Chapman Sisson, the architectural firm that designed
the Madison County Service Center at the corner of Oakwood Avenue and Memorial Parkway North, estimated renovations would run at least $60 million.
“Which doesn’t make business sense,’’ Strong said. “So we’re going to look at other options.’’ He added that he hopes to introduce a plan to the county commission in “the next few months.’’
Many offices that were previously housed at the courthouse – licensing, tax assessor and collector, board of registrars and probate judge – have relocated to the Madison County Service Center. Meanwhile, court caseloads are rising along with the county’s population boom and a new building would provide more courtroom space. An eighth judge – Patrick Tuten – was recently appointed to the 23rd Circuit by Governor kay Ivey.
“We’ve needed a lot of additional courtroom space,’’ Strong said. “We’ve added another judge, and we’re having to build a temporary courtroom right now. Our hope is that we can build something that will not only take care of what we need today but also the days ahead.’’
Strong said Madison County’s caseload per judge “still leads the state.’’
“But the 23rd Circuit has never used that as an excuse,’’ he added. “Our process works well. I wouldn’t swap where we live for anything.’’
Strong then moved on to discuss the recent environmental review of Huntsville for the relocation of Space Command. He said the U.S. General Accounting office and the Air Force completed reviews of the decision to move the Space Force command from Colorado to Redstone and that “we won it fair and square.’’ He cited quality of life, cost of living, short commute times, top notch schools, costs to build and maintain and because Redstone Arsenal leadership was “ready to make it happen’’ as reasons the command is relocating.
“Hopefully, we can now shift the focus to where it needs to be – going vertical on these facilities and standing up a new command as quickly and efficiently as possible,’’ Strong said.
Strong also mentioned various transportation projects. Deals struck between the federal government and that state include clearing up troubling spots on I-565, Highway 72 and University Drive and Highway 53.
Strong mentioned that representative support was a major factor in these recent achievements and advancements for Madison County. Representatives from Limestone County, Decatur, Athens, Scottsboro and Rogersville were among the guests at the luncheon.
“There is a common bond across North Alabama,’’ Strong said. “Local leaders have seen the value of working together as a region and know that when we stick together the sky truly is not the limit.’’
And, with support from Governor Ivey and numerous local and state colleges and universities, HudsonAlpha is building a new plant testing facility that will focus on researching genomes that will combat disease and lead to creating droughtresistant crops.
To conclude, the State of the County address, Strong listed some of the successes he’s seen in 10 years as county chairman: More than 30,000 NEW jobs, diversified the economy through advanced manufacturing, secured building for transportation projects, an expanded sewer, protected drinking water, expanded hikingbike path connectivity, brought rocket engine testing back to Redstone, built Toyota Field and Orion Amphitheater, greatly reduced unemployment and created better public education.
For Strong, these cases of recent success only further “position North Alabama not only for today, but also for generations to come’’ as the focal point of Alabama. w
