SLCEC Regional Facts & Information - Economic Trends  
   
St. Louis County emerged as the economic center of the St. Louis region in the 1980's with both the largest number of jobs and the largest resident labor force in the region. During the 1990's, the County's economy continued to thrive, with continued low unemployment rates. The County contains about one-fourth of all jobs in the State of Missouri.  
   
The County's employment base became more diverse in the 1980's and 1990's as jobs shifted from manufacturing to the service sector. Manufacturing industries (including administrative, research and production facilities) provided nearly one fifth (19 percent) of the County's jobs in 1991. By 2001, the share of manufacturing industry jobs had decreased to 13 percent. Employment by service industries increased from 28 to 32 percent of all jobs within St. Louis County during that same time period. Retail trade, the second largest job category with 19 percent of the jobs in 2001, grew more slowly than overall employment.  
   
Key Growth Industries & Occupations
Occupational Distribution
Income Statistics
Major Regional Industries & Employers
 
   
Key Growth Industries & Occupations  
   

Growth Industries

 

St. Louis Area Growth Industries

Job Growth

Estimated % Change’98-‘08

Non-depository Institutions

3,703

 

40.1

Agricultural Services

2,458

 

34.8

Auto Repair Services

4,173

 

28.1

Business Services

22,901

 

27.1

Security & Commodities Brokers

2,429

 

24.4

Social Services

6,446

 

23.9

Health Services

21,834

 

17.6

Misc. Retail Stores

4,485

 

17.4

Educational Services

15,675

 

14.7

Local Government

4,989

 

12.3

Eating and Drinking Places

9,731

 

11.0

Mo. Division of Economic Development, 2002
 
   

Growth Occupations

 

Fastest Growing Occupations
in the St. Louis Area (Est. 1998 – 2008):

• Desktop Publishing Specialists • Respiratory Therapists
• Computer Scientists • Computer Science Teachers
• Computer Support Specialists • Medical Assistants
• Paralegals • Cardiology Technicians
• Systems Analysts • Correctional Officers
 
   
 
   
Occupational Distribution  
             
Employment by Occupation
Missouri
%
MSA Total
%
St. Louis
County
%
Management, Professional
& Related Occupations
836,005
31.5%
430,637
34.4%
210,366
41.6%
Service Occupations
399,052
15.0%
185,432
14.8%
63,158
12.5%
Sales and Office Occupations
714,303
26.9%
352,074
28.1%
148,738
29.4%
Farming, Fishing
& Forestry Occupations
17,240
0.6%
2,380
0.2%
513
0.1%
Construction, Extraction
& Maintenance Occupations
259,266
9.8%
110,045
8.8%
15,689
6.4%
Production, Transportation
& Material Moving Occupations
432,058
16.3%
172,002
13.7%
18,797
10.0%
Total
2,657,924
100%
1,252,570
100%
505,250
100%
 
% = Percentage of Total Employment  
   
   
 
   
   
 
   
   
 
   
   
 
   
   
 
   
Income Statistics  

St. Louis County's median household income as reported in the 2000 Census (1999 income) was $50,532, the third highest median income among Missouri counties while poverty was nearly 5% lower than the state as a whole.

 
   
Comparative Income Measures
 
1999 Income
St. Louis County
Missouri
St. Louis Region (MSA)
Percentage of
Persons in Poverty*
6.9%
11.7%
9.9%
 
   

*Percentage of persons for whom poverty status is determined by the Census Bureau.
Source: U. S. Census, 2000, Summary File 3.

 
   
Household Income, St. Louis County
 
1999 Household Income
Households
Percent
<$10,000
23,049
  
5.7
  
$10,000 - $24,999
61,613
  
15.2
  
$25,000 - $49,999
115,115
  
28.4
  
$50,000 - $99,999
133,899
  
33.2
  
$100,000 - $199,999
55,237
  
13.6
  
$200,000 or more
15,694
  
3.9
  
 
Source: U. S. Census, 2000, Summary File 3.  
   
Median Household Income by Census Tract
 
 
   

Personal Income

 

Total personal income for St. Louis County from $27.4 billion in 2000, up from $27.4 billion in 1990, as measured by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. That 66 percent increase in personal income was more than double the increase in the consumer price index, which increased 30.5 percent in the same period. Transfer Payments had the greatest increase (90 percent) followed by Wage, Salary and Proprietors Income (68 percent) and Dividends, Interest and Rent (54 percent). Wage and Salary income increased from $18.9 billion in 1990 to $31.7 billion in 2000. Wage and Salary income constituted 69.0 percent in 2000.

 

 
 
   
Major Regional Industries & Employers  
   

Manufacturing Industries

 

The presence in St. Louis County of headquarters or prominent branch offices for several large manufacturing corporations such as Boeing, Monsanto, Emerson Electric and Mallinckrodt results in an unusually high proportion of highly paid executive and professional employees within the manufacturing sector. This is particularly significant in the chemical industry, with the Monsanto and Mallinckrodt headquarters and research facilities resulting in an extremely well paid work force. According to the 1997 Economic Census, St. Louis County produced 20 percent of the value added by manufacturing and accounted for 29 percent of the manufacturing industry payroll for the State of Missouri.

 
   
Employment & Average Wage for Manufacturing Industries — St. Louis County
 
Industry
Employment 2001
Wage ($) 2001
Food Processing
4,968
  
45,217
  
Textile Mill Products
206
  
39,336
  
Apparel & Finished Textile Products
1,024
  
36,646
  
Lumber & Wood Products
387
  
28,051
  
Furniture & Fixtures
2,712
  
40,505
  
Paper & Allied Products
2,162
  
49,580
  
Printing & Publishing
8,346
  
45,332
  
Chemicals & Allied Products
8,128
  
79,180
  
Petroleum & Coal Products
661
  
58,620
  
Rubber & Plastic Products
3,552
  
37,487
  
Leather Products
768
  
67,724
  
Stone, Clay & Glass Products
999
  
41,246
  
Primary Metal Industries
1,016
  
50,128
  
Fabricated Metal Products
3,127
  
40,378
  

Industrial & Commercial Machinery
& Computer Equipment
10,055
  
48,239
  
Electrical & Electronic Equipment
3,815
  
64,527
  
Transportation Equipment
25,505
  
67,120
  
Instruments & Related Products
4,768
  
58,960
  
Miscellaneous Manufacturing
942
  
38,970
  
Total Manufacturing
83,141
  
49,329
  
 
   
Note:

The data in this table includes all wage and salary workers covered by unemployment insurance. This does not include self-employed workers, railroad, military, and some church employees. Employment numbers from the source will be consistently lower than figures from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. These data pertain to people who work in St. Louis County.

 
   
Major Private Employers in St. Louis County  
Company
Persons Employed
in St. Louis Region
The Boeing Company
16,400
  
Schnuck's Markets, Inc.
12,393
  
SSM Health Care System
10,700
  
Washington University
10,300
  
St. John's Mercy Health Care
10,100
  
Daimler Chrysler Corporation
8,200
  
United Parcel Service (UPS)
5,200
  
Tenet Saint Louis
4,800
  
Dierberg's Markets, Inc.
4,500
  
St. Louis County Government
4,400
  
Special School District
4,000
  
Monsanto Company
3,700
  
Edward Jones
3,700
  
Rockwood School District
3,500
  
 
 
 
Source: St. Louis Business Journal, Book of Lists –2002.  
   

— back to top —