OCEAN CITY- During one of the first official events at the new Performing Arts Center in Ocean City, area business leaders, politicians and other stakeholders got a highly educated view on the state of the economy in the resort and in Worcester County, and while some of the news continues to be negative, there appears to be plenty of positive opportunities for the local area going forward.
On Wednesday, the Worcester County Economic Development Department and the Ocean City Economic Development Committee hosted a joint economic summit at the new Performing Arts Center in the Roland E. Powell Convention Center in Ocean City. While the first real performance-related event at the new PAC is set for Saturday, the economic summit provided a first glimpse of the sparkling new facility for many in the resort area and perhaps is symbolic of the growth in the economy and hope for the future.
The keynote speaker for the summit was Anirban Basu, chairman of the Sage Group and one of the most highly regarded economists in the mid-Atlantic region. In descending order, Basu provided a profile of the economy from a global standpoint, down through the national, regional and state economy and ultimately Worcester County and Ocean City.
While the affable Basu’s speech was largely filled with statistical information on the international and national economies, he pointed out it is all relevant down to the local scale. His message included the notion while the ongoing recession might still be felt on many levels, there were plenty of indications of a recovery and renewed opportunity.
“We’re not in a recession,” he said. “If you look at certain indicators, the economy is doing well, but most people don’t feel good about it. We’re not in a recession, we’re very much in a recovery.”
Basu pointed to several indications of an economic recovery from soaring stock values to improvements in the real estate and housing sectors to rebounds in job creation after several years of stagnation. Perhaps most importantly for the resort area, Basu, said the recovery is based largely on renewed consumer confidence.
“This is a consumer-driven recovery and it’s being driven by personal spending and consumption,” he said. “That bodes well for Ocean City and Worcester County.”
Basu, who has been named to Maryland Governor-Elect Larry Hogan’s transition team, said one area for concern across the country and in Maryland continues to be the creation of well-paying jobs.
“The quantity of jobs being created nationally is not bad, but the quality of the jobs being created is not good,” he said. “Maryland ranked 47th in the nation in jobs creation, while Delaware is fourth. Delaware is a standout performer on creating good jobs and Worcester County has to compete with that.”
Basu pointed out Worcester County and Ocean City are still subject to peaks and valleys in unemployment, just as it has been for years, a point not lost on many of the business leaders in the room.
“There is good news and bad news for Worcester County unemployment,” he said. “Unemployment is trending lower, but spikes high at certain times of the year. It’s still a highly seasonal economy.”
Nonetheless, there is reason for optimism with the economic recovery and the potential to diversify the local economy so long dependent on the big two of tourism and agriculture.
“The key for Worcester County is identifying that third industry,” he said. “That’s the ticket. Is it offshore wind? Is it financial services, or offshoots from Wallops? That’s what needs to be identified.”
Basu said there are indications of a diversifying economy already in Worcester County and in and around the resort area with new and different businesses sprouting up. He said Worcester and the resort area has shown an increase in the financial services sector, which could bode well for the local area in keeping its brightest and best and attracting new young professionals.
“The good news is the growth in financial service providers can fuel private sector growth,” he said. “Worcester County could become home to bright, young entrepreneurs and its happening to some degree already. What they want is to work less, get done what they have to get done, go to the beach, enjoy their families and wear shorts half the year. Worcester has a chance to be that because of the quality of life here.”
It’s been largely debated in recent years that Ocean City is out-pricing its historic fan-base. While there is an ongoing spurt of redevelopment, town officials have been cognizant of creating and nurturing value-added amenities for its visitors. In perhaps his most important nugget of wisdom of the day, Basu encouraged county and resort business leaders not to lose sight of that.
“The middle class and the upper middle class fuel Ocean City, not just in terms of visiting the Boardwalk, but in other ways including the housing market,” he said. “The middle class is looking for value propositions and Ocean City has been particularly good at providing people with economically beneficial ways to be joyful. The middle class is successful, but they don’t have endless resources.”