Public-sector workers in Orange fare best

CHAPEL HILL -- Orange County's economy is good, a speaker told community leaders Wednesday -- if you work in the public sector.

The county gained 10,000 jobs in the last decade, about 7,000 of them in public-sector workplaces such as UNC-Chapel Hill and UNC Hospitals, said Charles Hayes, president and CEO of the Research Triangle Regional Partnership. The partnership is an economic development group for 13 counties in and around the Triangle.

Public-sector employees do well in Orange County.

They average $6,000 more a year than public-sector workers in the region, Hayes said.

For private-sector workers, it's a different story.

They average $10,000 a year less than their regional counterparts, he said.

Hayes didn't pursue the disparity during the annual "State of the Local Economy" luncheon at the George Watts Hill Alumni Center. Local leaders concede that Orange County's small private sector is heavy on the retail and service industries. People who make pizzas earn less than those who make vaccines.

"The economy in Orange County does well," Hayes said. "The question is how long is this model we have in Orange County sustainable."

Barry Jacobs, chairman of the Orange County Board of Commissioners, said the county is going after higher-paying jobs.

After many years, the county is talking with Mebane and Durham about running water and sewer lines to two economic development zones suitable for industry.

Local developers have proposed a megaretail center for part of the Mebane zone, but Jacobs said the commissioners will press the developers to sign tenants that provide a living wage and health benefits.

Here are other statistics contained in an annual report released at the meeting:

* Orange County grew 7.1 percent from 2000 to 2006. The county had 123,766 people in 2006.

* Retail sales tax collections grew 2.3 percent, but retail sales per capita were well below the state average.

* Overall the county's tax base remains 86 percent residential and 14 percent non-residential.

* The average single-family home sales price in 2007 was $382,794. The median was $250,000.