The Manufacturing Sector (Excluding Lumber and Wood Products)

Economics 309 -- Humboldt County Wealth Indicators Project 2001

Gabriela Carvalho

Data Source: www.calmis.ca.gov/FILE/LFHIST/HUMBOHLF.TXT and Employment Development Department Data

Source: Employment Development Department Data

How are we doing?

A clue to the study:

The Humboldt County Employment Development Department gathers information for the manufacturing industry cluster in Humboldt County. Lumber and wood products are not included in the manufacturing sector. Included in this analysis is food and kindred; apparel; furniture and fixtures; paper and allied products; printing and publishing; chemicals; rubber and plastics; leather; stone, clay, glass, concrete; primary metal; fabricated metal products; machinery and computer equipment; electrical equipment and electronics; transportation equipment; measuring, analyzing, controlling instruments, watches, clocks, and optical; and other miscellaneous. There are three sectors that are included in manufacturing but are not present in Humboldt County. These are tobacco, textile mill products, and petroleum refining.

The number of people employed by the manufacturing industry is the same as it was ten years ago. The graph above shows that the number of people employed has increased, and then declined, with the peak number of people employed in 1996. The reason for this is unclear. Further analysis in the future will be necessary in order to understand whether there is a declining trend, or if the industry naturally fluctuates within this percentile.

Although the number of people employed has not increased, the average annual salary for employees has increased. This increase is from $12,173.64 in 1991 to $15,703.45 in 1999. Likewise the total annual payroll has increased in this nine year time period. In 1991, the total annual payroll from the manufacturing industry was $21,866,790. By 1999 it had increased to $30,244, 834.

It is notable that in 1996, there was a peak in the number of people employed while there was a trough in the average annual salary. In this same year, there was no change in the trend of increasing value of total annual payroll. This implies that more people were employed while their salaries were lower.

Why is this important?

In order to evaluate Humboldt Countyís level of sustainability, it is important to investigate the state of its industries. The examination of a countyís industries will provide a wealth of information including the number of jobs provided, the amount of money entering the local economy through employee salaries, an employees quality of life based on a salary, the import and export of goods and resources, and much more. When examining these factors over time, one can figure out if a county is working closer to or is moving further away from being sustainable. Sustainability is a constant process. There are always ways in which a community could become more sustainable.

One way a community can sustain itself is through providing jobs that manufacture products for that communityís use. A community needs jobs to sustain it. It is important for citizens to contribute to a community through working and buying goods and services so that a true community is established. It is through a community that sustainability is achieved and where people work together toward common goals that benefit everyone.

I examined a number of different businesses in Humboldt County to gather the above data. One business in the manufacturing industry is Sun Frost. This company manufactures refrigerators that are 65% more energy efficient that the average refrigerator on the market Sun Frost also manufactures refrigerators that are compatible with solar home systems. When speaking with the business, I found that many of the resources used to manufacture Sun Frost products are imported in from all over the world. I also found that the majority of Sun Frostís customers are located outside of Humboldt County. It comes to question that if resources are being imported and the product is being exported, why is this business located in this area. I asked the founder of the business why Sun Frost is in Humboldt County. He said that his first customers consisted of homeowners that were off the grid, and there were a lot of these homeowners in Humboldt County. He also said that he loves the area.

The fact that Humboldt County has a population of people who live off of the grid gives a clue as to the culture of the area, and the level of sustainability of Humboldt County. It takes a population of educated and dedicated people to create a sustainable society. People who manage to live off of the grid are people who are well educated about their energy use and energy systems and dedicated to their lifestyle. If Humboldt County is an area that attracts businesses that manufacture products for a population of homeowners attempting to live sustainable lifestyles, then this area is closer to being sustainable then the counties these businesses rejected.

The founder of Sun Frost also stated that he loves the Humboldt County area. I found that a number of businesses were founded in this area because people enjoyed being here. This is another clue to Humboldt Countyís level of sustainability. People tend to invest time and energy into improving, or at least maintaining the areas that they love. If businesses exist in Humboldt County for the reason of enjoyment of the area as opposed to any other reason, i.e. to maximize profits, then businesses will tend to be interested in working toward improving a communityís level sustainability. A community with a higher level of sustainability will not only improve the quality of life for employees, but it will also sustain the business.

The number of jobs in the manufacturing industry of Humboldt County is stable, meaning there is the same number of jobs over a period of time. If jobs are stable, and average annual salary increases, then it is assumed that quality of life for an employee increases. Likewise, if the total annual payroll of the industry is spent within the community, and the total annual payroll increases over time, then the quality of life for the community increases. It is through an increased quality of life, of individuals and the community as a whole, that the highest level of community sustainability can be achieved.