JACKSON - Despite the nation's economic slowdown, state officials say Mississippi's economy will have some bright spots in 2003.
Robert Rohrlack, executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority, said Thursday that there are several economic development projects in the works this year.
Nissan is building an assembly plant near Canton set to open in May. It will bring 4,000 high-paying manufacturing jobs by the end of the year.
There are also 18 Nissan suppliers moving in to serve the plant, adding almost as many more new jobs.
Northrop Grumman Ship Systems recently announced an almost $300 million expansion of its Pascagoula and Gulfport shipyards, adding 1,600 new jobs by 2006.
Then, there are the state's Gulf Coast casinos. They enjoyed stable revenues through much of 2002, and that trend is expected to continue, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
"We have some things happening in a positive vein despite the continued slow national economy," Rohrlack said.
But 2003 promises another year of challenges for Mississippi, as well as the rest of the Southeast and the nation.
Nationwide, economists are watching to see if a modest increase in business investment spending in the fourth quarter will gain momentum - translating into business growth and expansion and job growth.
But consumer spending - which accounts for almost two-thirds of all national output - slowed in the fourth quarter. The Federal Reserve notes that because consumers continued to spend during the recession, there is little pent-up demand. As a result, businesses will be cautious in building up inventories and rehiring laid-off workers.
Electrical transformer and computer maker Howard Industries decided to expand its Laurel manufacturing plant, adding up to 2,300 jobs - but only after the state agreed to kick in $31.5 million in incentives. And Northrop Grumman wants the state to pay half of its expansion tab.
Rohrlack, whose agency works with companies considering moving to Mississippi, says he has seen a recent pickup in the number of companies considering moving to the state.
On the down side, companies are taking longer to make up their mind, and the competition for their business is getting fiercer.
"We have to help our existing businesses to expand, but we also are in such need to increase our pool of existing businesses," he said.
Statewide, Mississippi has continued to lose jobs: The unemployment rate was 6.1 percent in December, unchanged from the month before and higher than the national unemployment rate of 5.7 percent for both months.
The state's apparel industry has lost almost 20,000 jobs since 1994. That trend is expected to continue.
Jobs in the lumber and wood products industry declined to 23,000 from 28,000 in 1998; that industry is expected to stabilize this year but show no growth.
The gaming industry, after surging in the 1990s, is a mature industry and growth is expected to slow considerably.
As for manufacturing jobs, the number of workers in that sector declined to 206,500 in 2002 from 259,000 in 2002.
The state's burgeoning auto industry will add manufacturing jobs. But those jobs require different skills than other industries, and Robertson said it's not readily apparent whether laid-off workers in other industries will all find auto industry jobs.
One industry that has continued to grow is health care. Since 1994, health care employment in the state has risen to more than 80,000 from about 63,000. And between 1998 and 2008, five of the top 10 occupations that will grow the fastest are in health care, according to Jan Garrick, spokeswoman for the Mississippi Employment Security Commission.
Copyright 2002, Associated Press. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
