April 4, 2008
For immediate release |
Contact: Xuan Liu or Sue Stetler
313-324-3441 or 313-324-3428
|
SEMCOG releases regional forecast to 2035; overall forecast is one of slow growth
Southeast Michigan’s forecast is one of slow growth from 2005-2035, according to the 2035 Forecast for Southeast Michigan: Population, Households, and Jobs for Counties, Cities, Villages, and Townships, 2005-2035, just published by SEMCOG, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments.
The region is currently experiencing an extended period of decline in jobs and population, led by significant decrease of manufacturing jobs and increasing out-migration of working-age population. However, in the long-term to year 2035, Southeast Michigan’s overall forecast is one of slow growth:
- 3.5 percent population growth by 2035 (to 5.1 million people);
- 9 percent household growth; and
- 7 percent increase in jobs.
Households will increase faster than population because the average number of persons per household will decline, and all the increase in households is in households without children. Nearly four in 10 households will have at least one person over age 65 in 2035, this due to the aging of the baby boom generation (who will all be age 70 or older in 2035) as well as longer life spans.
Job growth will be less robust than in the 1990s. Future job growth depends on more older people staying in the labor force, with many in part-time jobs.
“There are both challenges and opportunities of a slow-growth environment and an increasingly older population,” noted SEMCOG Executive Director Paul Tait. “This forecast will help local governments understand and shape the brightest future possible.”
This 2035 Forecast will provide a base for SEMCOG's long-range planning.
The report, 2035 Forecast for Southeast Michigan: Population, Households, and Jobs for Counties, Cities, Villages, and Townships, 2005-2035 is available in PDF on SEMCOG’s Web site – www.semcog.org (under Reports on the home page). To request a printed copy, please contact SEMCOG’s Information Center at (313) 324-3362 or infocenter@semcog.org. Additional data, in five-year increments, can be found at www.semcog.org (under Programs and Projects, Planning, Regional Forecast)
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SEMCOG is a regional planning partnership of governmental units serving 4.9 million people in the seven-county region of Southeast Michigan striving to enhance the region's quality of life
SEMCOG. . . Equipping local government leaders for the future
535 Griswold, Suite 300 • Detroit, MI 48226-3602 • (313) 961-4266 • fax (313) 961-4869