128
THE COUNTY ECONOMY
PLANNING ISSUE
In addition to effects from the
Great Recession, job growth in
Montgomery County was
relatively stagnant in the ‘00s
compared to previous
decades.
Jobs of County Residents
Jobs in the County
County Businesses
Downtown and Main Street Areas
Office, Industrial, and
Brownfield Areas
Retail Commercial Areas
Tourism
Agriculture and Farm
Preservation
Employment Forecasts and
Economic Trends
What’s New
•
There are fewer jobs in Montgomery County in 2011
than there were in 2000. While most of the jobs
were lost during the Great Recession over the last
three years, job gains during the decade were still
very modest in the period preceding the Recession.
•
Self-employed jobs are more difficult to count, but
the Census Bureau does track the number of
establishments with no employees, which can be
used to approximate self-employed activity.
Interestingly, this number did not go down after 2008
like most other employment figures. It remained at
over 64,000 establishments, which also represented a
15% gain since 2000. This indicates that while many
businesses were forced to downsize or close during
the recession, entrepreneurial activity was still
strong, likely due to some of the newly unemployed
venturing out on their own.
Jobs in the County
Most of the jobs data in the next two sections are based on
the published data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS). It is recognized that not every job is counted under
the BLS totals, with the largest omission being a lack of self-
employed positions. The BLS offers an acceptable and most
importantly, consistent method of viewing employment data.
However, the most accurate depiction of total jobs in the
county is the 2010 estimate formulated by the Delaware
Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC), which
was 542,264 jobs for Montgomery County. This estimate
was also used in the 2040 forecasts at the end of this chapter.
Regardless of the data source, it is clear that the county’s
economy took a hit beginning in 2008 due to the Great
Recession. Approximately 30,000 jobs were lost in a two
year period, causing a spike in unemployment and the
closing of some commercial buildings. Prior to the last
decade, employment rapidly expanded during the 1970s and
1980s as Montgomery County challenged Philadelphia as a
site for new businesses and the expansion or relocation of
existing businesses. During the 1990s, employment growth
continued at a more modest but consistent pace. Over the
last decade, there was a dip in employment levels early on,
but the numbers were rising from 2003 through 2008 before
the downturn hit.
The positive trends taken from the last forty years show that
Montgomery County has had a stronger than average
economy when it comes to job creation. Since 1970, the
county increased its job totals by 95%, while national and
state employment totals went up by 82% and 36%,
450,000
455,000
460,000
465,000
470,000
475,000
480,000
485,000
490,000
495,000
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 20082009 2010 2011
FIGURE 97:
Total Employment Change in Montgomery
County according to the BLS: 2001-2011
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics (This does not include every job,
including the self-employed.)
respectively. When the county economy has struggled or
experienced setbacks, it has generally been due to larger
forces affecting the national economy as a whole.
King of Prussia, the county’s largest employment center is known for its
shopping malls, but is also strong in office and light industrial uses.
