Guest opinion

By Rhonda Simmons

"People living here have good jobs and earn good incomes."

This is the first of six fundamental principles for the Puget Sound region set forth by the Prosperity Partnership in the final draft of its economic strategy -- a plan that aims to bring 100,000 jobs to King, Snohomish, Kitsap, and Pierce counties by 2010.

Catalyzed by the leadership of the Puget Sound Regional Council, and involving hundreds of business leaders, nonprofit organizations, and unions, the Prosperity Partnership has a strategy that embodies a new and positive approach to our region's economic development. By maintaining a long-term perspective, emphasizing regionalism, and working to strengthen both burgeoning and established sectors of our economy, it holds great potential to reverse the recent lackluster record of job creation in our area.

But before we celebrate the idea of more jobs and a more vibrant economy, we need to carefully examine what type of jobs will be added to ensure that the jobs created meet the employment needs of a diverse population.

The Prosperity Partnership is focusing on five industry clusters in which our region has a competitive advantage: aerospace, clean technology, information technology, life sciences, and logistics and international trade. Many of the jobs created by these industries will pay high wages and will require advanced degrees in science and engineering.

But in focusing our efforts mostly on the high-wage end of the spectrum, we run the risk of following the example of other technologically based cities, which are quickly leaving low- and moderate-income residents further and further behind.

Seattle Jobs Initiative's 2004 report on the working poor, "Beyond the Bottom Line," found that one in four working families in Washington state does not earn enough to cover basic needs such as housing, food, health care, transportation and child care. King County census data echoes this problem, reporting declining median incomes and unexpectedly high poverty rates over the past few years.

These are unsurprising statistics considering that the region is still down 20,000 jobs despite two years of economic recovery. Total manufacturing jobs remain 38,000 below peak employment levels in 2000.

Equally troubling, Seattle Jobs Initiative's recent analysis of post-recession job growth in King and Snohomish counties found that one-third of newly created jobs are in industries that on average pay less than $30,000 per year. These jobs include cashiers, waiters and waitresses, maids and housekeepers, child-care workers, and various personal services.

Middle-wage jobs are the key to improving this picture. We must build upon the vision of the Prosperity Partnership to strengthen industries that can offer job opportunities for residents without advanced degrees. Focusing on the biotechnology industry is important, but the emphasis on research -- coupled with the absence of biotech manufacturing -- makes it unlikely that the sector will create new middle-wage jobs.

To create a broader spectrum of jobs, the Prosperity Partnership should also focus on other parts of the biomedical sector, such as medical instrument manufacturing, which would likely offer middle-class jobs and advancement opportunities for those with less than a four-year college degree.

Similarly, reviving the aerospace sector is a laudable goal, but this sector may never recover its job-growth trajectory since Boeing's new sourcing system will spread jobs -- and associated technological innovation -- around the globe. In its next phase of identifying promising industry clusters, the partnership should include those that have the potential for steady job growth and rewarding career ladders for the two-thirds of the population in the four-county area who do not hold bachelor's degrees.

Equally important to maintaining and attracting middle-wage jobs is ensuring that we have appropriate and effective institutions to train our work force. As a recent statewide survey has shown, businesses without a sufficient number of skilled workers are often forced to curtail their expansion. Community colleges are well positioned to fill this role, but these institutions require even closer connections with employers. We need to ensure that community colleges are an integral part of our economic planning.

Unlike many prior local economic development efforts, the leadership of the Prosperity Partnership has welcomed ideas and participation from a broad range of perspectives to improve the plan. This presents a unique opportunity to ensure the plan represents the best interests of all people in the region. Let's not waste it. We can make Seattle the first city in our nation to place widely shared prosperity at the center of its job creation strategy.

RHONDA SIMMONS is the executive director of Seattle Jobs Initiative, a nonprofit organization that helps low-income adults attain living wage jobs.