7/30/2019 NorthSide Regeneration Project white paper - Jobs and Income, by Missouri Wonk
1/12
www.mowonk.com 1
NORTHSIDE JOBS & INCOME
NorthSide: Jobs & Income
TheNorthSideareasjobs,economy,and
incomecanbestbedescribedthroughan
analysisofitsunemploymentrate,thejobsof
itsresidents,itsresidentsmedianincomes,and
thepovertylevelofthearea.
Unemployment
Whenanalyzingtheeconomicproductivityof
anareaspopulation,onekeyindicatoristhe
unemploymentrate;thisrateisthepercentage
oftheunemployedrelativetothenumberof
peopleinthelaborforce.Eachyear,theU.S.
CensusBureauaskshouseholdswhetherthey
areemployed,unemployed,ornotinthelabor
force.
Table1containsthetotalpopulationsixteen
yearsorolder,thepercentageofthat
populationthatisinthelaborforce,andthe
unemploymentratefortheNorthSidearea,St.
Summary
Ananalysisofthe2010AmericanCommunitySurveydatareportsthattheNorthSideareahasa
higherunemploymentrateandalowerpercentageofthesixteenorolderpopulationinthelabor
forcethaneitherSt.LouisCity,theSt.Louismetropolitanarea,orMissouri.Thehigh
concentrationofresidentswithalessthanhighschooleducationattainmentandthelackof
transportationoptionsavailabletothe47%ofhouseholdsthatdonotownavehiclemaybe
contributingfactorsinthishighunemploymentrateandlowlaborforceparticipation.The
NorthSideareapopulationhasamedianincomethatisabouthalfofSt.LouisCitys,40%of
Missouris,andone-thirdoftheSt.Louismetropolitanareas.Additionally,theNorthSide
populationsmedianincomehasgrownataslowerpacesince1970thananyofthethreeareasof
comparison.ThislowmedianincomeisalsoindicativeoftheextremepovertyintheareaastheNorthSideareasproportionofresidentswithincomesbelowthefederalpovertylevelisnearly
twiceashighasSt.LouisCitys,morethanthreetimesashighasMissouris,andfourtimesthe
proportionoftheSt.Louismetropolitanareas.
http://www.mowonk.com/http://www.mowonk.com/7/30/2019 NorthSide Regeneration Project white paper - Jobs and Income, by Missouri Wonk
2/12
www.mowonk.com 2
NORTHSIDE JOBS & INCOME
LouisCity,theSt.LouisMetropolitanArea,and
Missourifor2010.
TheunemploymentrateintheNorthSidearea
is1.7Xtherateofthecityandalmost3XtherateofeithertheSt.Louismetropolitanarea
orMissouri.However,oneofthemore
interestingaspectsofthedataisthe
percentageofthepopulationsixteenorolder
thatisinthelaborforce.Whilethis
percentagerangedfrom65-68%forthethree
areasofcomparison,theNorthSides
percentagewaslessthan50%.Many
NorthSideresidentsmayhavegivenuplookingforajobanddroppedoutofthelabor
force;iftheseresidentswereinthelabor
force,theunemploymentratemayhavebeen
muchhigher.
Area Population16+ InLaborForce Unemployed
NorthSide 10,772 48.8% 21.3%
STLCity 256,198 65.9% 12.6%
STLMetro 1,562,728 67.9% 7.8%
Missouri 4,664,019 65.2% 7.4%
Table1:2010EmploymentandUnemployment
TheUnemploymentRate
TheBureauofLaborStatisticsdividesthepopulationintothreecategories:employed,
unemployed,andnotinthelaborforce.
Employed-Peoplewithjobs
Unemployed-Peoplewhoarejobless,lookingforjobs,andavailableforwork
NotintheLaborForce-Peoplewhoareneitheremployednorunemployed
Source:BureauofLaborStatistics,Infotakenverbatimfromwebsite
American Community Survey, 5-year Estimates
http://www.mowonk.com/http://www.mowonk.com/7/30/2019 NorthSide Regeneration Project white paper - Jobs and Income, by Missouri Wonk
3/12
www.mowonk.com 3
NORTHSIDE JOBS & INCOME
Oneofthecontributingfactorsfortheextreme
unemploymentintheareaistheeducation
attainmentoftheNorthSidepopulation.Table
2comparestheunemploymentratesforthose
ages25-64withlessthanahighschool
educationoftheNorthSidearea,St.LouisCity,
theSt.Louismetropolitanarea,andMissouri.
Ofthenearly2000residentsintheNorthSide
whoarebetweentheagesof25and64and
whohavealessthanahighschooleducation,
morethanhalf(52%)arenotinthelabor
force;ofthosewhoareinthelaborforce,
nearlyone-third(31%)areunemployed.The
unemploymentrateismuchhigherforthose
thathavelessthanahighschooleducationin
thethreeareasofcomparisonaswell.This
informationindicatesthattheoverall
educationattainmentoftheNorthSide
residentsislikelyin`luencingthe
unemploymentrateinthearea.
Occupations
Themorethan4,000NorthSideresidentsthat
dohaveajobworkintheoccupationsand
proportionslistedinTable3;theproportions
forSt.LouisCity,theSt.Louismetropolitan
area,andMissouriarelistedaswell.
Morethan40%oftheemployedNorthSide
residentsworkintheserviceindustry,amuch
higherpercentagecomparedtothethree
othercomparisonareas.TheNorthSidearea
hasasigni`icantlysmallershareofjobsinthe
management,business,and`inancialcategory,
thecomputerengineering,andscience
category,theeducation,legal,community
service,artsandmediacategory,andthe
healthcarepractitionersandtechnical
occupationscategorythanSt.LouisCity,the
St.Louismetropolitanarea,andMissouri.
AreaPopulation25-64
withoutHSEducationInLaborForce Unemployed
NorthSide 1,981 48.0% 30.7%
STLCity 27,535 55.3% 21.2%
STLMetro 92,686 59.7% 14.4%
Missouri 336,893 58.0% 13.2%
Source:AmericanCommunitySurvey2010,5-yearEstimates
Table2:LaborForceandUnemploymentforAges25-64withLessthana
HighSchoolEducation
http://www.mowonk.com/http://www.mowonk.com/http://www.mowonk.com/7/30/2019 NorthSide Regeneration Project white paper - Jobs and Income, by Missouri Wonk
4/12
www.mowonk.com 4
NORTHSIDE JOBS & INCOME
Table3:Occupations
Oftheapproximate1,700NorthSideresidents
whoworkinserviceoccupations,55%work
ineitherfoodpreparationandservice
occupationsorthebuildingandgrounds
cleaningormaintenanceoccupations.Ofthe
approximate950NorthSideresidentswho
workinsalesandof`iceoccupations,more
than62%workinadministrativesupport
occupationsandtheremaining38%workin
salesoccupations.
JourneytoWork
TheNorthSideresidentsmusthaveameansof
gettingtothesejobs.Oftheapproximate
4,000arearesidentsthatareemployed,about
29%ofthemdonothaveavehicleavailableto
Occupations NorthSide STLCity STLMetro Missouri
Management,
Business,andFinancial
6.8% 11.2% 15.4% 13.6%
Computer,Engineering,and
Science1.9% 5.2% 6.1% 4.3%
Education,Legal,Community
Service,Arts,andMedia
6.7% 12.5% 10.6% 9.9%
HealthCare
PractitionersandTechnical 1.9% 6.0% 6.2% 5.7%
Service 41.4% 23.8% 16.5% 17.0%
SalesandOf`ice 22.8% 23.8% 26.7% 25.9%
NaturalResources,Construction,and
MaintenanceOccupations
6.0% 6.2%% 7.8% 9.8%
Production,
Transportation,andMaterial
Moving
12.5% 11.3% 10.8% 13.8%
Source:AmericanCommunitySurvey2010,5-yearEstimates
http://www.mowonk.com/http://www.mowonk.com/7/30/2019 NorthSide Regeneration Project white paper - Jobs and Income, by Missouri Wonk
5/12
www.mowonk.com 5
NORTHSIDE JOBS & INCOME
gettowork.Ofthese1,200residents,about
halfrelyonpublictransportationtogettoand
fromwork,about18%walk,about16%either
borrowacarorcarpoolwithothers,andthe
resteitherworkathomeorutilizetaxis,
bicycles,orsomeothermeansof
transportation.
TheNorthSideresidentslackofaccesstoa
vehiclemaycontributetotheunemployment
andlackofparticipationinthelaborforceas
describedearlierinthisanalysis.With47%of
allNorthSidehouseholdslackingamotor
vehicle,itmaybedif`icultforthemtoarrange
transportationtoandfromwork,which
furthercompoundstheirdif`icultiesin`indingandmaintainingemployment.
Income
Table4showshowtheNorthSidemedian
incomehascomparedtothemedianincomein
St.LouisCity,theSt.Louismetropolitanarea,
andMissouriinthe1970,1980,1990,and
2000censusesaswellasthe2010American
CommunitySurvey.
In2010,theNorthSideareasmedianincome
was3.83Xwhatitwasin1970;incomparison,
St.LouisCitysmedianincomewas4.11X,the
St.Louismetropolitanareawas5.11X,and
Missourismedianincomeis5.19Xwhatitwas
in1970.Thisshowsthatthedisadvantages
thattheNorthSideareafacedin1970have
onlygottenworse.Graph1showsthisdatain
alinegraph.TheNorthSideareaslineonthe
graphisnotassteepastheotherareaslines,
indicatingthatmedianincomehasgrownataslowerpacethanSt.LouisCity,theSt.Louis
metropolitanarea,andMissouri.
Poverty
Thisincomeinformationisindicativeofthe
extremepovertyinthearea.Table5shows
Area 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
NorthSide $4,715 $8,237 $10,348 $16,958 $18,065
STLCity $8,182 $11,511 $19,458 $27,156 $33,652
STLMetro $10,691 $18,879 $32,708 $45,623 $54,646
Missouri $8,914 $15,581 $26,362 $37,934 $46,262
Table4:MedianIncome1970-2010
Sources:NeighborhoodChangeDatabase,U.S.DecennialCensuses1970-2000,andAmerican
CommunitySurvey2010,5-yearEstimates
http://www.mowonk.com/http://www.mowonk.com/7/30/2019 NorthSide Regeneration Project white paper - Jobs and Income, by Missouri Wonk
6/12
www.mowonk.com 6
NORTHSIDE JOBS & INCOME
Graph1:MedianIncome1970-2010
Area ProportionofPopulationBelowPovertyLevel
NorthSide 45.7%
STLCity 26.0%
STLMetro 11.4%
Missouri 13.9%
Table5:2010Poverty
Source:AmericanCommunitySurvey2010,5-yearEstimates
thepercentageofresidentswhoseincomes
arebelowthepovertyline.
ThepercentageofNorthSideresidentsthat
arebelowthepovertylevelisabout46%,whichisnearlytwicethenumberthatare
belowthepovertylevelinSt.LouisCity,more
than4Xtheproportionbelowthepoverty
levelintheSt.Louismetropolitanarea,and
about3.3Xtheproportionofthosebelowthe
povertylevelinMissouri.
http://www.mowonk.com/http://www.mowonk.com/7/30/2019 NorthSide Regeneration Project white paper - Jobs and Income, by Missouri Wonk
7/12
www.mowonk.com 7
NORTHSIDE JOBS & INCOME
Summary
Ananalysisofthe2010AmericanCommunitySurveydatareportsthattheNorthSidearea
hasahigherunemploymentrateandalowerpercentageofthesixteenorolderpopulationinthelaborforcethaneitherSt.LouisCity,theSt.Louismetropolitanarea,orMissouri.The
highconcentrationofresidentswithalessthanhighschooleducationattainmentandthe
lackoftransportationoptionsavailabletothe47%ofhouseholdsthatdonotownavehicle
maybecontributingfactorsinthishighunemploymentrateandlowlaborforce
participation.TheNorthSideareapopulationhasamedianincomethatisabouthalfofSt.
LouisCitys,40%ofMissouris,andone-thirdoftheSt.Louismetropolitanareas.
Additionally,theNorthSidepopulationsmedianincomehasgrownataslowerpacesince
1970thananyofthethreeareasofcomparison.Thislowmedianincomeisalsoindicativeof
theextremepovertyintheareaastheNorthSideareasproportionofresidentswithincomes
belowthefederalpovertylevelisnearlytwiceashighasSt.LouisCitys,morethanthree
timesashighasMissouris,andfourtimestheproportionoftheSt.Louismetropolitan
areas.
http://www.mowonk.com/http://www.mowonk.com/7/30/2019 NorthSide Regeneration Project white paper - Jobs and Income, by Missouri Wonk
8/12
www.mowonk.com 8
NORTHSIDE JOBS & INCOME
Data,Sources,andArea
Relyingoncensusdatafrom1970-2010,MissouriWonkcanshowhowthedemographicsofthe
populationhavechangedfortheNorthSidearea6.Theareaoffocusinthisanalysisisthe
geographicregionencompassedbycensustracts1115,1201,1202,1203,1212,1213,1214,
1257and1266ofthe2000censusandcensustracts1115,1202,1212,1257,1266,1271,and
1275ofthe2010census.Theareacoveredbythesetractsisnearlyidentical,however,between
2000and2010,theBureauoftheCensusconsolidatedtracts1201and1203intoanewtract,
1271,andcollapsedtracts1213and1214intoanewtract,1275.
The2000censustractsrelyoninformationcontainedintheNeighborhoodChangeDatabase,
whichwasdevelopedby:
Geolytics,Inc.,aprivatecompanythatspecializesincurrentandhistoriccensusdata; TheUrbanInstitute,aresearchorganizationthatstemsfromarecommendationofa
1960sblue-ribboncommissionappointedbyPresidentLyndonJohnson(Urban
Institute);and TheRockefellerFoundation,aphilanthropicorganizationwhichsupportsworkthat
expandsopportunityandstrengthensresiliencetosocial,economic,healthand
environmentalchallenges,whichprovidedpartofthefundingfortheinitiative
(RockefellerFoundation).
TheNeighborhoodChangeDatabaseallowsforhistoricalanalysisofaspeci`icareaasspeci`icas
thecensustractlevel.WhiletheU.S.BureauoftheCensuschangesitscensustractboundaries
toaccommodatechangesinpopulation,thedatabaseholdscensustractboundariessteadyover
time;thisallowsforanapples-to-applescomparisonofthesameregionacrossthe1970,
1980,1990,and2000decennialcensuses.Atthetimeofthiswriting,the2010censustracts
andboundarieshavenotbeenincorporatedintothedatabase;however,asidefromthe
consolidationofthetractsmentionedpreviously,therewasonlyonedifferenceinthetotalarea
ofthestudyandnoneofmaterialdistinction.7
http://www.mowonk.com/http://www.mowonk.com/7/30/2019 NorthSide Regeneration Project white paper - Jobs and Income, by Missouri Wonk
9/12
www.mowonk.com 9
NORTHSIDE JOBS & INCOME
Figure1:NorthSideAreainContextofSt.LouisCity
Source:MapproducedwithGeolyticssoftware,ACS2006-2010Interface.
Note:TheareashownhighlightedinredstripesdesignatestheNorthSide
Area.
http://www.mowonk.com/http://www.mowonk.com/http://www.mowonk.com/7/30/2019 NorthSide Regeneration Project white paper - Jobs and Income, by Missouri Wonk
10/12
www.mowonk.com 10
NORTHSIDE JOBS & INCOME
Figure2:NorthSideArea2000CensusTracts
1214
1257
1213
1266
1203
1202
1201
1212
1115
Source:MapproducedwithGeolyticssoftwareusingtheNeighborhoodChangeDatabase
2000
Note:NumbersdenotecensustractsasusedbytheUnitedStatesBureauoftheCensus
http://www.mowonk.com/http://www.mowonk.com/7/30/2019 NorthSide Regeneration Project white paper - Jobs and Income, by Missouri Wonk
11/12
www.mowonk.com 11
NORTHSIDE JOBS & INCOME
Figure3:NorthSideArea2010CensusTracts
1202
1115 1271
1266
12571275
1212
Source:MapproducedwithGeolyticssoftware,ACS2006-2010Interface.
Note:NumbersabovedenotecensustractnumbersusedbyUnitedStatesBureauofthe
Census.
http://www.mowonk.com/http://www.mowonk.com/http://www.mowonk.com/7/30/2019 NorthSide Regeneration Project white paper - Jobs and Income, by Missouri Wonk
12/12
www.mowonk.com 12
NORTHSIDE JOBS & INCOME
References
AmericanCommunitySurvey(ACS)2010.UnitedStatesBureauoftheCensus.Information
obtainedfromGeolytics,Inc.
BureauofLaborStatistics.LaborForceStatisticsfromtheCurrentPopulationSurvey.
RetrievedfromtheworldwidewebonDecember2,2012fromhttp://www.bls.gov/cps/
cps_htgm.htm#concepts.
NeighborhoodChangeDatabase.Geolytics,Inc.2010.
U.S.BureauoftheCensus.1970,1980,1990,and2000Censuses.Information
obtainedfromGeolytics,Inc.
ABOUT MISSOURI WONK
Missouri Wonk is a firm founded by Brian Schmidt that performs policy analysis services for
businesses, trade associations non-profits, campaigns, and government entities.
ABOUT BRIAN SCHMIDT
Brian Schmidt served as the Executive Director of the Missouri General Assemblys Joint Committeeon Tax Policy from 2005 through 2011. He received a Bachelor of Political Science degree at Truman
State University and a Master of Public Affairs- Public Policy degree at the University of Missouri-
Columbia.
http://www.mowonk.com/http://www.mowonk.com/http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htmhttp://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htmhttp://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htmhttp://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htmhttp://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htmhttp://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htmhttp://www.mowonk.com/http://www.mowonk.com/