Saline County Economy Good and Bad

The National Association of County Organizations (NACO) evaluates county economies and has determined that from 2002 to 2015, Saline County’s GDP and home prices have recovered, but jobs and the unemployment rate have not.

Additional detailed information was supplied to County Commissioners, by County Administrator Rita Deister. The report described Saline County as having:

• A Gross Domestic Product of $2.7 billion dollars
• An unemployment rate of 4.2%
• A population of 55,755 in 2014

NACO identified the “Top Five Specialized Industries” in Saline County as being:

• Trade, Transportation and Utilities, accounting for 21% of the economy and 6,500 jobs
• Manufacturing, accounting for 16.2% of the economy and 5,000 jobs
• Education and Health, accounting for 15.8% of the economy and 4,900 jobs
• Leisure and Hospitality, accounting for 9.6% of the economy and 3,000 jobs
• Other Services, accounting for 4.7% of the economy and 1,400 jobs

In terms of the County’s performance on key economic indicators, from 2002-2015:

• The unemployment rate has shown 0.0% (no) change.
• The job growth rate has seen a 0.9% decline.
• Economic output shows a 0.0% (no) change.
• Median home prices have shown a 3% growth.

The newly formed Salina Community Economic Development Organization will likely discuss these figures. They will meet Thursday, at 9:AM at the Chamber annex.

This information can be found by going to www.naco.org/countyeconomies.

Story by: Karen Shade for KSAL News

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