Here are two dozen key indicators to show the relative strengths and weaknesses in the Virgin Islands economy.
These figures document trends in labor, tourism, taxes, school enrollment and home sales, among other areas.
— V.I. Labor Force – 53,530 in 1993, falling to 45,715 in 1997 or now equal to levels of the late 1980s, a 15% drop.
— Wage & Salary Employment – peaked at 48,650 in 1993 and has fallen to 42,300 in 1997 or a level last seen in the late 1980s.
— Manufacturing Employment – 1970 = 3,190 .. 1980 = 3,190, fell to 1,750 in 1986 and grew back to 2,900 by 1994 and has fallen to 2,210 in 1997 or a level of about 10 years ago.
— V.I. Government Employment – between 12,000 and 13,000 since 1980, but certain V.I. government wage payments have grown faster than those of the private sector.
— Wage Payments – Average annual growth rate of nominal wages = 6.6% from 1979 through 1996.
— Real Wages Payments – (1983$) have grown from $500 million in 1979 to $811 million in 1993, falling to $671 million in 1997, a 17% decline. Most teachers have not had a significant raise for almost nine years. Assuming even modest inflation of 2.5% per year, their standard of living has dropped by more than 20% during this decade.
— Wages by Industry – in 1978 government = $8,537 and private = $9,093, but in 1983 government passed private and by 1996 government was $30,400 and private $25,200. In 1996, the average wage paid by IDC beneficiaries equaled $22,440.
— Air Visitor Arrivals – peaked at 740,700 in 1988 and unsteadily fell to 462,300 in 1996 and equal to 508,800 in 1997, or a level now below 1980 and 1970.
— St.Croix Cruise Arrivals – peaked at 229,800 in 1995 and fell to 178,000 in 1997. The YTD value through October 1998 is down 15.1%.
— St. Thomas Cruise Arrivals – peaked at 1,560,200 in 1997 and is down 0.8% YTD October 1998.
— Visitor Expenditure – peaked at $900 million in ‘94 and fell back to $600 million in ‘97.
— Hotel/condo Units – At 5,102 in 1980, falling below 5,000 until 1987, peaking at 5,461 in 1994, falling to 4,406 in 1997, a level last seen in the 1970s.
— Room Nights Occupied – peaked in 1994 at 1,114,400 and dropped to 711,000 in 1996. In 1997, it equaled 828,700 and is up 10.8% YTD through October 1998.
— V.I. Occupancy Rate – Average has generally declined from 80% range in late 1970s to current average of 53.3% in 1997. The YTD average through October 1998 is 52.3%.
— Direct Flight Seats Arrivals – peaked at about 23,000 seat arrivals per week in early 1995 and fell to about 6,000 per week in late 1995 to a current level of approximately 15,000 or the level of 1993.
— Direct Flight & Visitor Expenditure Correlation – for every 1,000 additional direct flight seat arrivals per week, another $50 million in visitor expenditure is generated annually.
— Individual Tax Revenue Collections – After strong annual growth from 1970 to 1993 and a peak of $213 million, it fell to $174.7 million by 1996 and has recently increased to $183.7 million in 1997.
— Value of Building Permits – peaked at $350 million in 1990 after steadily growing since 1982. Fell steadily to $150 million by 1995 and has recently increased back to about $200 million.
— Rum Excise Taxes Returned – peaked at $40.3 million in 1982, fell to about $25 million in 1987. Since then, has slowly grown to $30.0 million in 1994. Rapid growth followed to $43.0 million in 1996, falling to $34.7 million in 1997. Long-term debt service equals about $40 million per year through 2026.
— Number of WAPA Customers, St.Thomas/St.John – 25,354 in June 1995, falling to 23,488 in January 1996 and slowly growing to 25,144 in September 1998. — V.I. Bank Assets – Are flat since 1993 at about $1.7 billion.
— School Enrollment – peaked at 33,092 in 1983 and has fallen steadily to 28,303 in 1997, a 15% decline.
— V.I. Home Sales (# sold) – peak of 478 sold in 1970, only re-attained at 486 in 1986, falling to 216 in 1992 and relatively flat thereafter.
— V.I. Condo Sales (# sold) – peaked at 519 in 1988, falling since to flat level around 150 currently.