EDA Update - September 2006

Vol. 3 No. 11 September 2006

	In this issue... More Than 5.7 Million Jobs Created Since August 2003 EDA Highlighted by Harvard Business School for Balanced Scorecard Success Next Economic Development Today Telecast: Regional Economic Development in Florida Assistant Secretary Sandy Baruah Joins Members of Congress to Present EDA Excellence in Economic Development 2006 Awards in the Winners’ Communities EDA Excellence in Economic Development 2006 Award Winners to be Featured in Next Edition of Economic Development America How to subscribe: To subscribe yourself or a colleague to EDA Update, send an email with contact information, including email address, to Jason Christian at jchristian@iedconline.org. More Than 5.7 Million Jobs Created Since August 2003 On September 1, the government released new jobs figures – 128,000 jobs were created in August. The economy has created more than 1.7 million jobs over the past 12 months and more than 5.7 million jobs since August 2003. Our economy has now added jobs for 36 straight months. The unemployment rate is 4.7 percent, below the average of each of the past four decades. Employment increased in 48 states over the 12-month period ending in July. Over the first half of this year, our economy grew at a strong 4.2 percent annual rate – faster than any other major industrialized country. Productivity has grown a strong 2.4 percent over the past four quarters, well ahead of average productivity growth in the last three decades. Per capita disposable income has risen 9.2 percent in real terms since the beginning of 2001. Total wage and salary income increased in real terms at an annual rate of 3.3 percent in the second quarter. This follows an 11 percent surge in the previous three months. Manufacturing production has risen 5.6 percent over the past 12 months, and manufacturing productivity has grown 3.8 percent over the past four quarters. *EDA Highlighted by Harvard Business School for Balanced Scorecard* Success** The Economic Development Administration is proud to have been highlighted in a recent edition of the Harvard Business School’s Balanced Score Card Report. The report features an article entitled, “Renewing Strategy, Revitalizing Culture at EDA: An Interview with Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Sandy K. Baruah.” Energized by President Bush’s management agenda, EDA leaders adopted the Balanced Scorecard to support a strategic transformation that in short order began achieving impressive results. In this article, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Sandy K. Baruah shares his perspectives on the agency’s winning approach that in 2004 won its entry into the BSC Hall of Fame. For a copy of this report (a downloadable PDF for $9.50), visit the Harvard Business School website. *Next Economic Development Today* Telecast: Regional Economic Development in Florida** October 5, 2006 3:00 - 4:00 P.M. EDT The next Economic Development Today telecast will take place on October 5 and showcase best-practice examples of regional economic development in Florida. The program will feature interviews with Florida Governor Jeb Bush and other public- and private-sector leaders who are collaborating across political boundaries to meet the challenges of 21st century economic development. Two of the regions that will be featured are the South Central Mega Region, centered in Miami, and the Tampa Bay/Clearwater/Sarasota Region. The program also will feature part of NARC’s Fifth Annual Metropolitan Regions Forum. The guests will address topics including infrastructure (transportation, environmental, financing); linkages to the global economy; workforce development and faith-based initiatives. Host: Matthew E. Crow, Director of Communications, EDA Featured Guests: • Florida Governor Jeb Bush • Representative from the South Central Miami Mega Region TBA • Representative from the Tampa Bay/Clearwater/Sarasota Region TBA Coordinates: Ku-band, analog: Galaxy 11, transponder 13 Orbitol slot: 91 degrees west Downlink frequency: 11960 Horizontal C-band, analog: Galaxy 4R, transponder 14 Orbitol slot: 99 degrees west Downlink frequency: 3980 Vertical To register, or if you have questions, contact Peggy Tadej at tadej@narc.org or 202-986-1032, ext 224. Assistant Secretary Sandy Baruah Joins Members of Congress to Present EDA Excellence in Economic Development 2006 Awards in the Winners’ Communities U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Sandy K. Baruah presents the 2006 U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration Excellence in Economic Development Award for Enhancing Regional Competitiveness to Catalyst Connection in Pittsburgh, Penn., on Tuesday, September 5, 2006. Pictured L-R: Charles A. Thomas, President and CEO of Solid State Measurements and Chairman of the Board of Directors for Catalyst Connection; U.S. Senator Rick Santorum; Assistant Secretary Sandy K. Baruah; Steven G. Zylstra, President and CEO of Catalyst Connection; U.S. Representative Melissa Hart; Petra Mitchell, Vice President of Operations at Catalyst Connection. U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Sandy K. Baruah presents the 2006 U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration Excellence in Economic Development Award for Innovation to ConnectKentucky in Bowling Green, Ky., on Wednesday, August 30, 2006. Pictured L-R: Kentucky House Speaker Jody Richardson, State Senator Guthrie, Congressman Ron Lewis, ConnectKentucky CEO Brian Mefford, Assistant Secretary Baruah, Kentucky Executive Cabinet Secretary Robbie Rudolph, and Warren County Judge Executive Mike Buckanan. For more photos, visit the EDA web site Photo Gallery. EDA Excellence in Economic Development 2006 Award Winners to be Featured in Next Edition of Economic Development America Expect the Summer 2006 edition of Economic Development America magazine to appear in your mailbox soon! The edition focuses on profiles of the EDA Excellence in Economic Development Awards 2006 winners. The Fall edition of the magazine, to be published in October, will feature “The Economic Developer’s Toolkit.” Articles will cover a range of topics of interest to economic developers – everything from business retention and expansion to financing, industry targeting, business improvement districts and more. Story ideas are welcomed for Economic Development America. For more information, contact editor Louise Anderson at landerson@iedconline.org or (828) 350-8855. Past issues of the magazine are available at www.eda.gov/NewsEvents/Edevinfocoalition.xml. EDA Update is brought to you as a benefit of a partnership among the Economic Development Administration (EDA), the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and the National Association of Regional Councils (NARC), to provide information about economic development practices and programs to economic development practitioners who serve distressed communities throughout the United States. This partnership also provides six telecasts and a quarterly magazine. For more information, visit the EDA Web site.