WSP04621

• File Number: 8407.500
• Description: Missouri River basin Comprehensive Framework Study-Volume 1- Report
• State: CO
• Basin: South Platte
• Water Division: 1
• Date: 12/1/1971
• Author: Missouri Basin Inter
• Title: Missouri River Basin Comprehensive Framework Study - Volume I - Report
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

absorption was nol sufficiently great 10 allow total
employment in the region to keep pace with the total
national increase. Most of the manufacturing has
remained in the large metropolitan areas, with Denver,
Kansas City, Omaha, and Sioux City accounting for 70
percent or more of the lotal manufacturing. For the
region's cities of 10,000 to 50,000 population, there has
been some progress in attracting manufacturing in recent
years. The most helpful trend has been decentralization
in the food processing industries. Industries such as meat
packing Jre becoming more oriented to smaller plants
located closer to the sources of their raw materials. Also,
there has been a smaU influx of light industry. such as
machinery fabrication and elecrronks. Even though the
growth of manufacturing has been good in some of the
medium-sized cities, the growth in smaller ones has been
rather sporadic. The plains portion of the region has
been particularly slow in attracting new industries.
The "other commodity" segment of the economy.
including mining and contract construction. has not
been growing at i1 particularly fast pace. Within the
mining segment, the fuels industries experienced the
slowest employment growth while enjoying substantial
production increases. Contractural construction is tied
to the general welfare of (he u(her eCll/lOIlliL' segments
and their growth. Again, the large metropolitan areas
have dominated this segment. This is 10 be expected for
they have had the greatest population and industrial
growth rates within the region.
The most rapidly expanding sector of the economy
and the one which accounts for the largest proportion of
employment. both nationally and jn the region. is the
noncommodity-prut..!ucing group_ In 1940, over 1.1
million persons were employed in this segment, which
amounted to just over half of Ihe total employment in
all segments of the economy. By 1960, the non-
commodity-producing employment had increased to 1.8
million, accounting for 61.8 percent of the total
employment in the region.
The noncommodity sector typically is composed of
labor-intensive industries of the trade and servil:e v<lriety
which depend largely upon the wealth produced by the
more basic segments of the economy. such as agriculture
ant..! mallufacturing. Only when nOllcomlllodity
industries are supported by money created oulside the
region, such as by the tourism business, do they add to
the region's economy and can be considered basic to the
local economy. At other times, they simply represent
the reexpenditure of wealth created by some other
industry within the region: thus, they are in a large part
dependent upon the economic wealth of the rest of the
region's economy. These are the industries that
domina Ie the economic bases of the smaller cities :.lI1d
towns.
Even though the government and military employ-
ment category has h<1d the largest percentage increase.

34

the trade category predolIllllates and has matched it in
terlllS of an increase of 100,000 workers in the
1950-1960 decade. In the same time period, the service
category has increased by some 163,500 workers. One of
the nwjor reasons for the increase in Ihe trades and
services has been a boom in the tourist industry during
the lasl few years.
There has been widespread mteresl within the region
in attracting the tourist dollar. In some favored locations
tourism is the primary induslry and in many other areas
it is second only to agriculture. Tourism has become a
particularly important source of income for many of the
small towns and cities. Consequently. Ihere have been a
number of concerted effurts to develop the scenic,
hunting, and fishing potentials and to provide the
services needed by the tourist. In some areas of the
region this industry has probably the greatest potential
for future growth and it is expected to become
increasingly important. The one serious shortcoming of
the water-orienled re(:reation sector of the tourisl
industry. particularly in the norlhE'rn porljons of the
region. is the relatively short seasonal activity which
parallels the peak seasonal demand for workers in the
agricultural and contract construction industries.
llowe\r'er, dependence of the majority of the region's
workers on the noncommodity-producing industries has
not been a total blessing. Historically, their wages have
been well beluw the Nation's average. Thus, the growth
of this segment of the region's economy has not had as
great an impacl 3S the numbers employed would
indicate. The lower salaries paid Illean that the region
cannot effectively compete with other areas of the
Nation for the trained worker, either in manufacturing
or in the trades and servkes. Consequently, many of the
most skilled people do nol stay in the regiun, but
migra Ie to other areas.
The distribution of total employment. and the four
major employment divisions of e<lch subregion for 1940,
1950. and 1960, are shown in figure i4. Employment in
the region is concentrated in the southern four sub.
regions. In 1960, these four subregions accounted for
1.4 million employees, or about 81.6 percent of the
region total.

INCOME AND EARNINGS

The total increase in real personal income for the
'region between 1940 and 1960 amounted to approxi-
mately $8_1 billion doilars_ Along with a growth in
population, increases in personal per capita income
during the 1940-1950 period amounted to 69_9 percent
and showed only 16.3 percent increase during the
following decade. For the same time periods total
earnings in the region increased by $3.9 and $2.1 billion
respectively. comparable to the national rate of increase.