Digging into the data on Building & Systems Construction has shown me an industry full of surprises. This industry certainly has restructured as a result of the recession (lost firms at -12. 8%, but less than the regional average of -15.5%), but, wow!, it has continued to grow jobs significantly (+21.9%, compared to the regional loss of -6.1% jobs) in the 15 year period (1995-2009). Real wages also grew faster (+9.5%) than the regional average (+6.7%) so that the average annual pay at $38,393 is nearly 29% above the regional average of $29,794.

When the Silicon Valley consulting firm, Collaborative Economics, first analyzed our economy and identified the Targets of Opportunity industries for the WIB, they called our Niche Manufacturing industry cluster the “Rock Stars”.

125 Humboldt citizens, community leaders and business owners participated in the launch of Prosperity 2012 on Friday. It was standing room only! You can see photos and a quick video at our community Facebook page:  NorthCoast Prosperity. We learned that our Internet broadband access is actually better than Redding! But given how long it took me to upload this little video, there is still work to be done to reach ubiquitous broadband and play at a global pace.

Michael Bernick of Fox & Hound called me last week about Humboldt Made. He was looking for winning rural innovations to grow jobs, and state leaders said "Humboldt! Definitely, Humboldt!" Read Michael's story here.

This is the first in a series of blog posts about Humboldt’s economy. We’ll be talking about our Target industries, how they are growing, the impact of the recession, the opportunities they offer, the challenges they face, the businesses and people leading them, and how you can make the most of these opportunities.