Jul. 15--Retail employment spiked more than 40 percent from 2002 through 2006, making it the fastest-growing job sector in Columbia.

That was one finding of a study comparing Columbia to 24 similar U.S. communities, selected based on population, economic structure and university presence. The University of Missouri Community Policy Analysis Center teamed up with the city of Columbia to analyze those trends.

Columbia ranked first out of the group in the retail job growth sector. Although retail is lower-paying employment -- retail jobs in Missouri paid roughly $21,568 annually on average during that period -- the numbers reflect other trends, said Tom Johnson, director of the policy analysis center.

"I wouldn't have guessed we're most dependant on retail, but when I think about it, I shouldn't be surprised," he said. "Located where we are, we just provide retail for a very large population. And we're an affluent community. People spend their money."

But Columbia's retail growth might be over, as more big-box stores are popping up in neighboring communities, said Tony St. Romaine, assistant city manager. That's evident in flat or even slightly decreasing sales tax revenue, he said.

Columbia ranked sixth among the peer group for growth in manufacturing jobs, increasing by nearly 10 percent. The city ranked 17th -- in the middle of the pack -- for growth in high-tech jobs.

Johnson and St. Romaine expect those fields to start growing with MU's recent push toward entrepreneurship ventures.

"The study definitely showed jobs in the high-tech manufacturing area are important," St. Romaine said. "Those are good, high-paying jobs. That's what we need to attract more of in Columbia." Ventures such as Discovery Ridge, "I think, will attract those types of high-tech manufacturing businesses to Columbia," he said.

Looking at scenarios for Columbia's future, such as how more high-tech manufacturing jobs would affect the city's socioeconomic demographics, "ratifies the fact that those types of jobs will definitely help the Columbia community much more so than, say for example, focusing on retail," St. Romaine said.

High-tech jobs in Missouri between 2002 and 2006 paid, on average, $65,505 a year.

Columbia ranked 21st for growth in private medical employment. That field grew less than 1 percent over the five-year period, likely because public medical services are growing and dominating the market, according to the study.

"Columbia has a very large health care component, so even small amounts of growth are pretty big," Johnson said. "The cities where you see the most growth in health care are the ones that started near zero."

That's also the case with insurance-related jobs, for which Columbia ranked 21st.

"We know insurance is a big sector here, so even though we saw a small decline whereas others saw larger increases, I suspect they're still smaller overall," Johnson said.

Reach Janese Heavin at 573-815-1705 or e-mail jheavin@columbiatribune.com.

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