Recently, the Marin Economic Forum held our annual Forecasting the Future event with a focus on business attraction. Most people associate business attraction as the act of a public entity proactively recruiting companies to locate in their jurisdiction. Those entities may have different interests for businesses to locate there, such as job creation, infrastructure development, or tax revenues. The most visible example of this is when a state like Texas successfully poached San Francisco-based companies, offering incentives such as tax credits and lower costs.
The reason we chose to focus on business attraction is because, like other regions, Marin County has needs that can be filled by more businesses locating here. Let me present three areas where more growth in businesses will help the county:
1. Better jobs: Marin has among the highest educated and skilled resident population in the country. Over 65% of our residents hold bachelor’s degrees or higher. However, only 35% of the occupations in the county require greater than a high school education. This means many residents must seek employment outside of Marin because we do not have enough middle-skill and high-skill jobs to meet residents demands.
2. More economic growth: Most businesses currently operating in Marin serve the local market. That is good from the perspective of available goods and services for locals. However, being dependent on local consumers means limited growth opportunities because we are dependent on a smaller market.
3. Greater opportunity for youth: Young people in Marin don’t have robust opportunities for employment post-high school, save for some of the more active local sectors like construction. Most entry level jobs are in the services sector with limited opportunities for mobility. In addition, young college graduates have a shallow pool of professional services firms in Marin where they might secure employment with wages for a comfortable lifestyle.
What is it that Marin has to offer? Plenty. For starters, there is the high-skilled workforce that already lives in Marin. Second, from a commercial real estate perspective, office space in Marin is not only less expensive than peer counties, but we also have the types of office space that meets modern demands like outdoor office amenities, free parking, and lifestyle features in the towns and cities where offices are located (think of that after-work dinner with colleagues or, even better, an after-work hike!). Depending on the sector you operate, there may be other advantages to locating here where there is access to water for prototyping, lab space for R&D, or a central location if you are supplying markets to the north, east or south Bay Area.
How can we undertake business attraction in Marin? The answer is a bit complicated owing to our multiple jurisdictions and the resources normally associated with the task. However, readers should note that some of Marin’s cities, like San Rafael and Sausalito, are proactively focusing on the opportunity to attract new companies, with economic development resources in place to manage any activities should they decide to do so. A big part of the activity is promoting and selling your region to the broader public and that is a place MEF is starting to focus.
As our Chief Economist, Dr. Rob Eyler, mentioned at our Forecasting the Future event, “Marin has the muscle, it’s a matter of whether we flex it.”
SAVE THE DATE: MEF Economic Briefing March 11 – 9am
Come join MEF’s first Briefing of 2024 on Monday, March 11 at 9:00 am. Mike Blakeley and Dr. Robert Eyler will present 2024 early data and prospects. We look forward to you joining us.
We welcome your questions in advance of the program. Please submit your question to admin@marineconomicforum.org.
With a positive economy and high employment numbers dispelling fears of a recession, Marin Economic Forum members say the time is right to turn the spotlight on creating more jobs in the county.
The approximately 120 people who attended the annual Forecasting the Future 2024 program held at the College of Marin’s Indian Valley campus earlier this month included business, government, nonprofit and education leaders.
“Marin County has become an economic development leader based on the board of supervisors five-year Economic Vitality Strategic Plan developed in 2022 followed by the appointment of a full-time economic vitality coordinator in December,” said Mike Blakeley, CEO of the Marin Economic Forum.
“Our county’s economic fundamentals are strong, but most people don’t feel that way based on news in January of record layoffs in the Bay Area along with continuing high prices and interest rates along with reports that some states, such as Texas and Arizona, keep wooing away our firms.”
Inflation and the high cost of living still top the list of major concerns consumers face today in the wake of tight monetary policy. But this is already beginning to change with lower prices for appliances, gasoline, furniture, and used cars — as well as due to the possibility of interest rate cuts affecting borrowing costs coming into view. At the same time, the labor market remains strong, calming fears of a pending recession.
The state of the national and local economy was the topic at December’s Marin Economic Forum. The forum is designed to recap 2023 and offer a preview of what to watch for in 2024. Economic Forum CEO Mike Blakeley hosted the online briefing and introduced Sonoma State University Economist Dr. Robert Eyler who provided an overview of current realities while also offering a cautious, but positive forecast for the year ahead.
MEF’s Year in Review As we get ready to turn the calendar to 2024, we wanted to share some of the most significant activities and events led by the Marin Economic Forum (MEF) during 2023:
Putting a Spotlight on “Economic Equity”: In late 2022 the Marin County Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted the “Marin County Economic Vitality Strategic Plan” (“EVSP”) created by MEF. In early 2023, MEF met with community partners to pursue activities under Initiative #4 of the EVSP: “Create Pathways to Economic Mobility for Marin Residents.” MEF met with the County of Marin to discuss indicators that could be adopted by county agencies to track the economic progress of residents, via some of the key programs the county is implementing such as the “Race Equity Action Plan (REAP).”
MEF also dedicated its annual conference, “Forecasting the Future”, to the issue of economic equity. The conference included presentations of programs and activities led by three of Marin’s foremost organizations supporting economic equity in Marin: the Marin Community Foundation through their “MarinMOMentum” project, Community Action Marin and the economic justice program, and a presentation from the County Director of Equity Jamillah Jordan on the REAP program.
Supporting the Permit Process throughout the County: MEF is partnered with the Marin Builders Association (MBA) for the “Permit Improvement Program” (PIP). The PIP is an analysis of processes and customer feedback for municipal permit offices with a goal of improving efficiency and quality of services. During 2023, the County of Marin approved the second phase of their PIP produced by MBA and MEF, assuring residents In county unincorporated that improvements are occurring. The City of San Rafael also completed Phase II of their effort during the year.
Ensuring Continuity of the County and the MEF Board of Directors: In 2023, former Marin County Supervisors Judy Arnold and Damon Connolly left the MEF Board for other pursuits. Ms. Arnold was a founding member of the Marin Economic Commission, which later spun out to become MEF. Under her leadership, MEF not only grew in stature and supporters, but she was a champion voice in the county for economic vitality. Her colleague on the Board of Supervisors, Damon Connolly, was also a staunch supporter of the Marin economy and is now representing Marin County in the State Assembly. Following their resignations from the Board, two new Marin County Supervisors, Mary Sackett and Eric Lucan, were unanimously approved to join the MEF Board of Directors, ensuring the important relationship between the county and MEF continues. We welcome the additions of Supervisors Sackett and Lucan to the Board.
New Partner Program and Issue Platform: The MEF Board of Directors also approved two new programs that are intended to allow the community to have deeper engagement into MEF’s activities. The first approval was for a new “Partner” program, that allows community organizations to join MEF and participate in several activities, from committees to networking opportunities with Marin’s leaders. The second program is an “Issue Platform” whereby the MEF Partners and Board will select issues for the organization to focus during the calendar year. In 2024, MEF will focus on “workforce development” and “business attraction.” We welcome community Partner candidates from all across Marin and in every sector.
Happy Holidays from MEF!
We have enjoyed working with the Marin community this year and can’t wait for 2024! Please see some of our exciting upcoming events below. Marin Economic Briefing – Jan 24
Join MEF Chief Economist, Rob Eyler, for the first economic briefing of 2024 on January 24th at 9am. Registration details forthcoming. ___________________________________ Forecasting the Future – Feb 7
MEF’s signature annual event, Forecasting the Future, will be on February 7th at the College of Marin Novato campus. This year the event will focus on “business attraction” and feature a line up of excellent speakers talking about doing business in Marin County. Register here for tickets or sponsorship opportunities.
