79 / 125
78
│
Town Center Plan
January 2007
Appendix 4
Other sectors that saw exceptionally rapid growth during the six-year period were finance & insurance
(167%) and arts & entertainment (350%). Albeit starting from a small base, the addition of new arts,
entertainment, and recreation establishments is indicative of the rapid growth in a highly-educated,
cultured, and relatively affluent population that patronizes such venues. Such growth bodes well for
cultural opportunities that might exist in the study area.
Table 3.
BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENT, PAYROLL,
AND EMPLOYMENT TRENDS,
MORRISVILLE AREA, 1998-2004
1998-2004 Change
Industry/Factor
1998
2004
Number Percent
Construction
41
42
1
2.4%
Manufacturing
34
54
20
58.8%
Wholesale Trade
76
90
14
18.4%
Retail Trade
52
52
-
0.0%
Transport/Whse
42
60
18
42.9%
Information Svcs
21
36
15
71.4%
Finance/Insurance
6
16
10
166.7%
Real Estate
23
33
10
43.5%
Prof/Technical Svcs
55
152
97
176.4%
Management Svcs
16
11
(5)
-31.3%
Admin Services
37
64
27
73.0%
Education
4
7
3
75.0%
Health Care
15
21
6
40.0%
Arts & Entertainment
2
9
7
350.0%
Accommodation
29
52
23
79.3%
Other Services
17
27
10
58.8%
TOTAL Establishments 470
726
256
54.5%
Employment
18,624
19,964
1,340
7.2%
Payroll (000)
$784,213
$971,473
$187,260
23.9%
Average Wages
$ 42,108
$ 48,661
$ 6,554
15.6%
Sources:
U.S. Bureau of the Census and Randall
Gross / Development Economics.
Growth in employment has not been as rapid as the expansion of the business base, signaling growth
in the number of smaller, start-up businesses. Morrisville-area employment increased by 7.2% during
this six-year period. This rate of growth is significantly lower than that of Wake County as a whole,
where employment increased by 15.6% over the same period. Employment growth in the Morrisville area
represented only 2.9% of Wake County employment growth overall.
Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that Morrisville added over 1,300 jobs in a relatively small area outside of
the key regional employment nodes. The Morrisville area had about 20,000 jobs total in 2004. Again, it
is important to note that these jobs were not concentrated in Morrisville’s traditional town center. Rather,