Calvert County Department of Economic Development Releases 2003 State of the Economy

PRINCE FREDERICK, Md., -- April 21, 2004 -- The Calvert County Department of Economic Development (DED) announces the availability of the 2003 State of the Economy. The annual report is prepared by DED to outline the state of Calvert County’s economy and highlight factors affecting the economy and business community. The report also acts as a guide on general statistics and trends in the local and regional economy.

Statistics included in the report show that the Calvert County labor force continues to expand in tune with the DC region as a whole. As of June of 2003, the labor force had grown by 7.3 percent to 41,377 and the unemployment rate increased to just over 3 percent. Private sector job growth in Calvert County grew by 5.8 percent. Private employment now accounts for 81.9 percent of all jobs in the County versus 81.4 percent in 1990. During 2002, 515 of the new private sector jobs were in the County’s target industries. Jobs in the “service providing” category account for the largest portion of private sector employment and saw an overall increase of over 6 percent between 2001 and 2002. This sector includes: trade, transportation and utilities; information; financial activities; professional and business services; education and health services; leisure and hospitality; and other services jobs.

The Median Household Income in Calvert County increased almost 9 percent between 2000 and 2002. Calvert’s Median Household Income continues to rank in the top five counties statewide; in 2002, Calvert ranked third with a Median Household Income of $77,100.

While the number of commercial building permits has remained steady, commercial permit values have risen dramatically since 2000, increasing from $29.2 million to over $189 million in 2003. This in an increase of almost 549 percent and is most likely the result of a number of large projects beginning the construction phase.

The commercial portion of the tax base has risen tremendously in Calvert County, from $210,682,500 in FY 1991 to $478,553,464 in FY 2003 and an estimated $538,660,146 in FY 2004. Residential growth has kept pace, therefore, the recent tax base relationship has remained constant with commercial real property accounting for 7.9 percent of the total base.

Tourism continues to be a vital part of Calvert County’s economy. The number of visitors at the county’s visitor centers decreased 11 percent from FY 2002, while key visitor sites were down just over 14 percent. The entire State of Maryland experienced a decline in visitors throughout 2003 which is largely attributed to large amounts of rain throughout the region. Between 2002 and 2003, state sales taxes collected in Calvert County from hotels decreased 0.4 percent, restaurants increased over 10 percent, and shopping and amusements increased over 3 percent. Tourism jobs saw an increase of over 5 percent between 2000 and 2001 and tourism expenditures increased almost 4 percent. Finally, recreational boating expenditures increased almost 19 percent, for total expenditures of $56,492,778.

To obtain a complete copy of the report in .pdf format (Adobe Acrobat) please visit www.ecalvert.com/about.htm or contact the Calvert County Department of Economic Development, 410-535-4583 or 301-855-1880. Email cced@co.cal.md.us

For more information on the Calvert County, Maryland Department of Economic Development, our visitor sites and attractions and the services available to assist County businesses, call 410.535.4583, 800.331.9771 or 301.855.1880; or send an e-mail to info@ecalvert.com