While residential construction remains strong in suburban St. Louis, Kansas City and Minnesota, this region is wrestling with severe cutbacks in the aerospace industry. Wichita, Kan., was hit hard by layoffs at Boeing, Bombardier, Raytheon and other manufacturers of passenger aircraft.
Boeing's layoffs in the St. Louis area also made headlines, although some of those jobs may return soon to service Boeing's new $4.5 billion contract to build F-15 fighter planes.
Office construction in the region is also weak, with Minneapolis' vacancy rate at 12 percent downtown, and nearly 14 percent in the suburbs. According to the most recent Grubb-Ellis report, St. Louis has the strongest office market, with vacancy rates of only 9 percent downtown and 11 percent in the suburbs.
ELECTRICAL WHOLESALERS' SALES
(in millions of dollars) EW Estimates | | Final 1998 | Final 1999 | Final 2000 | Final 2001 | Forecast 2002 | Forecast 2003 |
|---|
| West North Central | 3,480.0 | 3,819.3 | 3,768.2 | 3,657.6 | 3,719.1 | 3,887.3 |
| Iowa | 491.8 | 503.7 | 497.0 | 482.4 | 490.5 | 512.7 |
| Kansas | 359.7 | 385.0 | 379.8 | 368.7 | 374.9 | 391.8 |
| Minnesota | 1,259.3 | 1,358.0 | 1,339.9 | 1,300.5 | 1,322.4 | 1,382.2 |
| Missouri | 1,004.7 | 1,182.1 | 1,166.2 | 1,132.0 | 1,151.0 | 1,203.1 |
| Nebraska | 149.0 | 155.0 | 152.9 | 148.4 | 150.9 | 157.7 |
| North Dakota | 88.7 | 97.0 | 95.7 | 92.9 | 94.5 | 98.7 |
| South Dakota | 126.7 | 138.6 | 136.7 | 132.7 | 134.9 | 141.0 |
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICSActual EC | in thousands | | | M | F/S/RT | G |
|---|
| West North Central | 57,695 | 1,405.0 | 5,217.1 | 1,650.2 |
| Iowa | 8,180 | 247.2 | 755.2 | 250.2 |
| Cedar Rapids MSA | 1,566 | 20.3 | 65.0 | 11.6 |
| Des Moines MSA | 2,373 | 23.3 | 180.5 | 37.8 |
| Dubuque MSA | 262 | 10.4 | 29.0 | 4.0 |
| Iowa City MSA | 316 | 5.5 | 33.5 | 28.4 |
| Sioux City MSA | 309 | 14.3 | 33.5 | 7.8 |
| Waterloo-Cedar Falls MSA | 302 | 14.7 | 36.6 | 10.8 |
| Kansas | 7,529 | 201.2 | 680.7 | 254.3 |
| Lawrence MSA | 337 | 5.5 | 25.1 | 14.3 |
| Topeka MSA | 596 | 9.6 | 58.0 | 22.2 |
| Wichita MSA | 1,862 | 67.7 | 136.3 | 35.8 |
| Minnesota | 16,616 | 411.1 | 1,452.8 | 412.0 |
| Duluth-Superior MSA | 684 | 7.8 | 65.2 | 23.1 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul MSA | 11,677 | 260.8 | 971.2 | 241.5 |
| Rochester MSA | 447 | 11.1 | 60.6 | 8.0 |
| St. Cloud MSA | 493 | 17.3 | 49.2 | 12.6 |
| Missouri | 16,546 | 362.3 | 1,459.4 | 425.7 |
| Kansas City MSA | 6,597 | 101.9 | 559.0 | 141.4 |
| St. Louis MSA | 8,360 | 170.2 | 759.7 | 155.5 |
| Springfield MSA | 860 | 20.9 | 98.1 | 22.2 |
| Nebraska | 4,987 | 113.3 | 485.2 | 160.3 |
| Lincoln MSA | 869 | 17.2 | 82.0 | 36.0 |
| Omaha MSA | 2,748 | 37.1 | 253.3 | 53.4 |
| North Dakota | 1,710 | 25.8 | 173.8 | 71.7 |
| Bismarck MSA | 311 | 3.4 | 30.5 | 10.6 |
| Fargo-Moorhead MSA | 753 | 8.5 | 61.0 | 14.2 |
| Grand Forks MSA | 324 | 3.7 | 25.0 | 11.6 |
| South Dakota | 2,180 | 44.1 | 210.0 | 76.0 |
| Rapid City MSA | 455 | 3.8 | 33.8 | 7.1 |
| Sioux Falls MSA | 624 | 13.0 | 76.1 | 11.2 |
NA — Not available
MSA — Metropolitan Statistical Area
PMSA — Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area
CMSA — Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area
EC — Electrical contractor employees. Actual numbers.
M — Manufacturing employees in thousands.
F/S/RT — Commercial accounts (finance, services, retail trade) employees in thousands.
G — Government employees in thousands. |
