The Community Research Council, a Chattanooga-based non-profit policy and research organization, Thursday announced the second set of findings from the State of Chattanooga Region Report (SOCRR) survey on Hamilton County views on jobs and the economy.

Among all Hamilton County residents, 77% of survey respondents indicated that “availability of jobs that pay a living wage” was very important to their quality of life in the Chattanooga area – among 15 factors, availability of jobs ranked fifth overall.

But most Chattanooga area residents believe the availability and quality of jobs in Hamilton County is either fair or poor.

When asked about the employment situation in Hamilton County today, in terms of quality and availability, most respondents indicated that it was either fair or poor – 68% -- as
opposed to excellent or good – 29%.

Excellent 3%
Good 25%
Fair 40%
Poor 28%
Don’t Know 3%

There were significant differences based on race, gender and education level of the respondent.

African American respondents had a significantly more negative perception on the employment situation in the county, with over half indicating that they believe it is poor -- compared to just 22.1% of white respondents.

Excellent/Good Fair Poor
White 31.8% 42.0% 22.1%
African American 13.2% 34.3% 52.5%

Women were also somewhat more negative than men in their view of the employment situation in the Chattanooga area.

Excellent/Good Fair Poor
Men 32.2% 40.3% 24.7%
Women 25.2% 39.2% 31.7%

Finally, respondents with different levels of educational attainment also differed in their assessment of the employment situation – with individuals with higher education more likely to rate the employment situation as excellent or good and less likely to rate it as poor.

Excellent/Good Fair Poor
High School
Education or Less
26.8% 35.2% 33.5%
Some College 27.2% 40.0% 30.1%
College Graduate 31.9% 44.4% 20.9%

In 2004 and 2005, the Council for Excellence in Government (CEG) and Goldman Sachs commissioned a series of surveys on economic development in six metropolitan areas – Kansas City, Fresno, Baton Rouge, Cleveland, Baltimore and San Antonio. Researchers also asked residents about the employment situation in their area – the only difference in the question was that the CEG surveys offered a possible answer of “not so good” between “just fair” and “poor.”

Excellent Good Fair/Not so Good/Poor
San Antonio 5% 34% 57%
Kansas City 4% 33% 58%
Baltimore 5% 28% 55%
Baton Rouge 3% 26% 66%
Chattanooga 3% 25% 68%
Fresno 3% 21% 71%
Cleveland 0% 6% 92%

Chattanooga area residents cite good quality of life, effective local government, quality public schools, public safety and affordable cost of living as top factors to bring new jobs to Hamilton County.

When asked whether different factors were important in creating a good environment for creating jobs in Hamilton County, more than 80% of Chattanooga area residents identified five factors as either one of the most important or very important – good quality of life (86%), an effective local government that is free of corruption (86%), quality public schools (84%), public safety (83%) and affordable cost of living (82%).

Again, the results from the Chattanooga area can be compared to the results from the CEG 2004 and 2005 surveys. In the CEG surveys, respondents were asked whether different factors were an “absolute priority, a high but not top priority, a medium priority, a lower priority or not a priority.”

Chattanooga area residents were more likely to cite “affordable cost of living” and “low taxes” than residents of the five other regions. They were also the least likely to cite availability of investment capital.

Effective Local Government that is Free of Corruption
Absolute/High Priority
One of Most/Very Important
Baton Rouge 89%
Chattanooga 86%
Fresno 79%

Good Quality of Life
Absolute/High Priority
One of Most/Very Important
Baton Rouge 89%
Chattanooga 86%
San Antonio 83%
Baltimore 82%
Fresno 81%
Cleveland 81%
Kansas City 80%

Quality Public Schools
Absolute/High Priority
One of Most/Very Important
Baton Rouge 92%
Kansas City 87%
San Antonio 87%
Baltimore 86%
Chattanooga 84%
Cleveland 84%
Fresno 83%

Public Safety
Absolute/High Priority
One of Most/Very Important
Baton Rouge 86%
Baltimore 86%
Chattanooga 83%
Fresno 80%
Kansas City 77%
Cleveland 75%

Affordable Cost of Living
Absolute/High Priority
One of Most/Very Important
Chattanooga 82%
Kansas City 80%
Baton Rouge 79%
Baltimore 79%
Cleveland 78%
San Antonio 77%
Fresno 70%

Well Educated Workforce
Absolute/High Priority
One of Most/Very Important
Baton Rouge 88%
San Antonio 83%
Chattanooga 79%
Baltimore 79%
Kansas City 74%
Cleveland 71%
Fresno 65%

Low Taxes
Absolute/High Priority
One of Most/Very Important
Chattanooga 73%
San Antonio 62%
Baton Rouge 61%
Cleveland 60%
Fresno 59%
Baltimore 56%
Kansas City 50%

Quality Colleges and Universities
Absolute/High Priority
One of Most/Very Important
Baton Rouge 87%
San Antonio 81%
Fresno 72%
Chattanooga 70%
Kansas City 68%
Cleveland 63%
Baltimore 62%

Infrastructure
Absolute/High Priority
One of Most/Very Important
Baton Rouge 79%
San Antonio 70%
Baltimore 70%
Chattanooga 69%
Kansas City 69%
Fresno 63%
Cleveland 60%

Investment Capital
Absolute/High Priority
One of Most/Very Important
Baton Rouge 66%
San Antonio 60%
Kansas City 58%
Cleveland 56%
Baltimore 55%
Fresno 54%
Chattanooga 49%

Hamilton County residents were asked which industries are most important for state and local government to focus on as part of efforts to bring good jobs to the region.

Top Choice Second Choice
Manufacturing 34% 19%
Technology 20% 20%
Health Care 15% 19%
Tourism 7% 9%
Corporate Headquarters 7% 9%
Transportation 5% 10%
Finance and Insurance 5% 9%
Retail 2% 4%

There were, however, significant differences in response based on respondent race, gender and education level.

Top Three Industries (First and Second Choice) by Race
African Americans Whites
1. Health Care 50.7% Manufacturing 55.6%
2. Manufacturing 38.8% Technology 39.9%
3. Technology 35.0% Health Care 29.9%

Top Three Industries (First and Second Choice) by Gender
Women Men
1. Manufacturing 47.5% Manufacturing 57.2%
2. Health Care 41.3% Technology 38.8%
3. Technology 34.6% Health Care 33.5%

Top Three Industries (First and Second Choice) by Educational Attainment
High School or Less Some College College Graduate
1. Manufacturing 55.5% Manufacturing 54.6% Technology 52.5%
2. Health Care 44.8% Technology 40.3% Manufacturing 47.4%
3. Technology 25.7% Health Care 30.4% Health Care 24.6%

As of April, 17 states now have minimum wage laws that set the minimum wage higher than the federal law of $5.15. Chattanooga area residents were asked “under current law the hourly minimum wage is $5.15. Do you think it should be higher, lower, the same or don’t you think
there should be a minimum wage?”

Percent
Higher 77
Lower 0
Same 12
No minimum wage 8
Don’t Know 2

Those respondents who supported a higher minimum wage were asked how much they thought it should be:

Percent
$5.16 - $5.99 2
$6.00 - $6.99 28
$7.00 - $7.99 39
$8.00 - $9.99 18
$10 + 8
Don’t Know 8