Page 70 - South Mississippi Living - January, 2020
P. 70
story by Kelsey Sunderman-Foster
For the past three years, the Gulf Coast Business Council and Gulf Coast Community Foundation have presented the annual State of the Coast Economy Symposium, which seeks
to evaluate future investment opportunities. This year’s analysts were Dr. Darrin Webb, a Mississippi State Economist, and Jon Roberts, John Karras and Jaclyn Le of TIP Strategies, Inc.
C I T YCLOSEUPS
2019
STATE
OFTHE
COAST
ECONOMIC REPORT
Looking at Coastal Mississippi’s available workforce, Dr. Webb noted that, “There is low labor force participation on the Gulf Coast and a large concentration of residents over the age of 65.”
In terms of economic development, these factors could deter developers from considering the Gulf Coast – there simply isn’t the labor force to support it at the moment. However, Dr. Webb acknowledges the high educational attainment rates for
high school students. While college attainment rates are not as high, trade careers are on the rise and could be
beneficial to our area. Carrying on the workforce
conversation, TIP Strategies dove into what jobs in the future will look like. “There’a a talent crisis in both availability and skills,” Roberts said, “But 85 percent of the jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t been invented yet.”
Roberts’ statements alluded to the increasing role of technology in the workplace as well as the rise in the popularity of remote workers. Those remote workers, he says, are exactly the people the Gulf Coast needs to be targeting.
“Ninety percent of remote workers plan on doing so forever,” he said. “In an economy that increasingly allows people to work anywhere, the places they choose to work are an indication of what they view as thriving communities.”
So how does Coastal Mississippi become more competitive in attracting remote workers? TIP Strategies says
it comes down to investments in our framework and laid out a strategy that will excite prospective companies and ensure a common vision for economic prosperity in the community.
Through this strategy, TIP suggests BP settlement funds be allocated
to three pillars: foundational,
core economic development and transformational; and five guiding principles: economic competitiveness, quality of place, regional collaboration, innovation and resilient infrastructure. By funding these foundational opportunities, strategists believe that Coastal Mississippi can become a place that businesses want to be and talented workers want to live.
Gulf Coast Business Council
228.897.2020 www.msgcbc.org
70 | January 2020
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