2012 AUGUST-MASHPEE EDIC Plan for Executive Park

Home Browse Search

The job base in Mashpee has expanded dramatically in the past decade. Since 1984, the business base within Mashpee expanded in every year except 1990 and 1991. Mashpee's rate of growth exceeded the county, state, and nation in every year since 1986. There are established networks between Mashpee businesses and the larger Cape business community in the form of supplier relationships. Still, Mashpee businesses purchase the majority of their goods and services off Cape Cod Mashpee businesses serve a primarily local and regional market. 72 percent of sales are made to Cape customers, 36 percent being from Mashpee. Mashpee's economy is heavily weighted toward retail jobs. Retail trade is the single largest source of jobs in Mashpee. Tthe retail trade sector accounted for 27.7 percent of total employment in 1993, or 594 jobs. This sector accounts for only 17.8 percent of total employment in the country as a whole. The second largest share of Mashpee-based employment in 1993 was the finance, insurance, and real estate sector, which accounted for 18.5 percent of employment; the corresponding figure for the U.S. was 6.1 percent. in 1993,the service sector in Mashpee was roughly half the size of the national service sector, but it has been growing in importance over the past ten years. The seasonal influx of tourists assures that a portion of the retail trade in Mashpee brings new income into the communityfrom off of Cape Cod In most communities, retail employment is limited by the local population's ability to support the establishments, and retail growth is tied to local population and income. In Mashpee, however, retail stores sell goods to visitors, bringing new income into the Cape economy. Mashpee retail businesses, including grocery stores, sell an average of 24 percent of their product to off- Cape customers. Fueled by the tourism industry, retail trade has been an important source of job growth for Barnstable County and Mashpee. In 1992, retail trade accounted for nearly 36 percent of Barnstable County employment, compared to 21.2 percent nationwide. In Mashpee, retail trade employment jumped 62.2 percent from 1984 to 1989. Even during the recession, Mashpee's 10.6 percent employment growth rate contrasted with a 14.2 and 12.1 percent decline for Barnstable County and Massachusetts, respectively. Jobs in Mashpee, however, are not necessarily held by Mashpee residents. Despite gains in local retail jobs,the sector's importance as a source of employment for residents has actually declined since 1980. The wholesale trade sector in Barnstable County and Mashpee is small. Growth in this sector may be limited by relatively poor transportation access. The construction industry has grown both within Mashpee and as a source of employment for Mashpee residents, however, it is seasonal and particularly vulnerable to economic fluctuations. In 1990, almost 10 percent of Barnstable County workers worked in contract construction, as opposed to 5.5 percent for Massachusetts, and 6.2 percent for the U.S. In Mashpee, just over 12 percent of residents worked in construction. Construction firms within Mashpee grew erratically throughout the 1980s, declined sharply between 1988 and 1991, yet managed a net 3 percent employment growth rate from 1989 to 1993 while firms in the county and state dropped over 35 percent. In 1993, however, construction provided fewer than 70 jobs in Mashpee. Unlike the rest of the Cape, Mashpee has historically provided a significant number of manufacturing jobs. However, the sector was highly dependent on the presence ofjust one firm,Augat, which closed in September, 1996. In 1992, manufacturing accounted for only 6.4 percent of Barnstable County employment. In Mashpee, however,manufacturing jobs represented about 17 percent of local jobs. Augat, 5