DIVERSITY AND SPECIALIZATION
Industry Trends
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8
Coastal Bend Industry Dynamics
How do our local industries compare with the
corresponding industries outside this region?
This question can be addressed through the two
measures of comparative advantages again:
location quotient and shift-share ratios. A location
quotient essentially captures the relative size of an
industry in a region in comparison with the relative
size of that industry nationwide. The accompanying
chart plots readings of location quotients on
the vertical axis for the broad industries in the
Coastal Bend. The size of a bubble reflects the
relative regional employment size of an industry.
Construction and oil and gas extraction are not the
largest industries in the region, but their shares of
employment each at about 8 percent are atypical
by national standards. The location quotient for
oil and gas extraction is 12 (off the scale of the
chart), meaning that oil and gas employment
in the Coastal Bend is 12 times of oil and gas
employment across the nation.
The horizontal axis represents growth of
individual industries in the past 15 years relative
to the growth of those industries nationwide. The
further to the right of the chart, the higher the
growth rate of an industry relative to that industry
nationally. The chart indicates that employment
in wholesale trade and health care has growth
relatively faster. On the contrary, the construction
and oil and gas extraction industries, both play
a relatively significant role in Coastal Bend
today, have expanded at about the same pace as
elsewhere in the nation between 2001 and 2014.
However, employment in these two industries has
accelerated in recent years.
Source: EMSI Analyst Online
The location quotient for oil and gas extraction
is 12 (off the scale of the chart), meaning that oil
and gas employment in the Coastal Bend is 12
times of oil and gas employment across the nation.
Overall, the bubble chart shows a positive correlation between the location quotients and shiftshare ratios across industries. This means that industries with stronger historical growth tend to play a
relatively greater role in the regional economy today.
Review of South Texas Business Conditions