Limestone Co. Madison Co.
HUNTSVILLE
HUNTSVILLE NONFARM EMPLOYMENT (Thousands) 250
238
226
214
202
190
2010
2015
2020
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
OUTLOOK HIGHLIGHTS Mazda Toyota Manufacturing (MTM) will open its new $2.3 billion automotive production plant and hire about 3,000 additional workers
in 2021. Nippon Express USA, a Japanese freight and logistics provider, is investing $19.1 million in its MTM location and adding 100 employees by 2022. Adjacent to the MTM campus, Intersect Development Group’s $35 million Huntsville 565 Logistics Park will open in 2021, and is designed to house 300 workers in e-commerce or local logistics and services. Buc-ee’s has announced plans for a $35 million travel center in Athens near the MTM campus. Construction will begin in 2021, and the project will create 170 jobs when it opens in 2022. Indorama Plastic Recycling Facility is continuing to expand its Athens facility adding 100,000 sq. ft. of space and 27 new jobs by summer of 2021 as part of its most recent $11 million investment. Construction of the $1 billion FBI campus on the Redstone Arsenal is well underway, and the agency is projected to transfer an additional 1,400 employees to Huntsville in 2021. Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama is filling 150 new positions in 2021 as part of the $830 million expansion it announced in 2019. Buffalo
ECONOMIC INDICATORS Real GDP 2019 (millions of 2012 $) GDP Forecast 2021 (percent increase) Exports 2019 (millions)
MOST RECENT DATA $26,244
Rock Company is building a new $20 million distribution facility in Limestone County that will be operational by the end of 2021 and create at least 130 full-time jobs by the end of 2022. Booz Allen Hamilton, a management and technology consulting firm, is opening its high-tech Innovation Center in Huntsville’s Stovehouse complex in early 2021. Torch Technologies and Invariant have both announced expansions as the first tenants in Freedom Real Estate & Capital’s new mixeduse office complex. The complex in south Huntsville will open in the spring of 2021 and include offices, research and development labs, and manufacturing spaces.
GDP AND EMPLOYMENT FORECAST Metro GDP as a share of the state’s GDP was at 13.1 percent in 2019 while totaling about $26 billion. CBER forecasts a 2.9 percent increase in GDP and a 2.4 percent increase in nonfarm employment for 2021.
CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR*
METRO RANK
3.3%
2.9
2 1
$1,534
-4.6%
4
Civilian Labor Force, October 2020
227,553
-1.5%
2
Nonfarm Employment, October 2020
217,869
-3.6%
2
Nonfarm Employment Forecast 2021 (percent increase) Available Labor Pool (Unemployed + Underemployed), October 2020 Unemployment Rate, October 2020 Underemployment Rate 2020
2.4
2
53,461
-12.9%
2
4.3%
2.1
11
20.1%
1.8
9
24,500
10.2%
2
Employment - Service Providing Industries, October 2020
205,100
-2.8%
2
Per Capita Income 2019
$52,110
3.8%
2
Average Annual Wage 2019
$55,980
2.5%
1
Median Family Income FY2020
$85,300
0.5%
1
Residential Building Permits, Single Family, Jan. - Sep. 2020
3,187
24.3%
1
Total Homes Sold, Jan. - Sep. 2020
8,348
5.5%
2
Population Estimate 2019
471,824
1.9%
2
Population Projection 2030
510,614
Employment - Manufacturing, October 2020
Additional details and data available on pp. 43-51
2
* Changes in unemployment rate and underemployment rate are presented in percentage points.
Alabama Economic Outlook 2021
38