Agenda - 09-19-2007-6f1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Section V. Draft County Profile (Data) Element Orange County Comprehensive Plan B4. Employment and Economy Highlights Orange County is fortunate to be located within an economically vibrant region that includes the Research Triangle Park. Economic conditions and employment opportunities are often the catalyst for changes in population trends, land use, and resource consumption. Further discussion of the economy will be covered in the Economic Development Element of the Comprehensive Plan. Statistics and data cited in this section have been obtained primarily from the US Census Bureau and Orange County's Economic Development Commission. Median family incomes at $59,874 in 2000 for Orange County are 23% higher than the US and 35% higher than the North Carolina average. Incomes have been steadily rising over the past 10 years. In the year 2000, 14.1 % of Orange County residents were considered to be in poverty compared to 12.3% of the State of North Carolina. Orange County has two -times the percent of college graduates as the state of North Carolina and the United States. Private Industry employs slightly over one -half of the Orange County population. Within the private sector, retail trade has the greatest number of employees, at slightly over 6,000; however, its growth has leveled off since the late 1990's. Ot Manufacturing jobs have decreased nearly 40% since 2002 in part due to factory closings and relocations. The State government generates nearly half of annual wages paid in Orange County, owing to the number of people employed by the County's largest 9/6/2007 04.1 employer, UNC — Chapel Hill, with approximately 11,000 employees. Weekly average wages for Orange County were $781 as of September 2006, 12% higher than the state's average wages of $696. In 2005, fifty -five (55) commercial occupancy permits with a total value of over $40 million dollars were issued by the Orange County Planning and Inspections Department for establishments located within their jurisdiction. In the Triangle Area, Orange County has the lowest unemployment. Z According to the 2002 Census of Agriculture, Orange County contains 19,405 acres in harvested cropland, with the average farm size of 113 acres. ( Agriculture generated $42 million dollars in income in 2005, which is comparable to the average income generated during the time period of 1997 -2005.