Economic Characteristic
The following table contains the basic economic characteristics for Douglas County as well as for Champaign, Ford, Iroquois and Piatt counties. Douglas County, with a population of approximately 19,750, is the third most populated county in the workforce investment area. The median household income of $52,990 is 1 percent lower than that of the workforce investment area and 10.5 percent lower than that of the state median.
In 2017, there were 8,395 jobs in Douglas County, accounting for approximately 6.6 percent of the total jobs in the region, the third-largest share in the workforce investment area. As a result, the Gross Regional Product (GRP) of approximately $770 million in 2017 is also the third-largest in the workforce investment area.
Population Characteristic
Douglas County has slightly lower median household income as compared to the state and national levels. Family income is also lower as compared to that of the state and nation. Household income is the sum of income of all people over 15 years living in a household, including related family members and unrelated individuals. Family income is the income of all family members 15 and over. Families are groups of two or more individuals related by birth, marriage, or adoption that reside together.
A large share of the population is between 45 to 64 years of age, while the population between 20 to 44 years old is much smaller. The ratio between male and females is relatively uniform with the exception of those in the 5 to 9 years bracket and those over 75 years of age. The number of males exceed by 5% in the 5 to 9 years cohort and females exceed by an average of 15% in over 75 years of age cohort.
Douglas County experienced a gradually decreasing trend in its total population between 2010 and 2017 with the exception of slight increases between 2011 and 2012 and between 2013 and 2014.
A large majority of the population (97 percent) is white. The second-largest race group is Asian, with 145 individuals making up approximately 0.7 percent of the Douglas County population. The African American share of the population is a close third, with 135 individuals residing in Douglas county in 2017. Overall, a total of 1,404 (7.1 percent) of Douglas County residents are of Hispanic origin.
Education Characteristics
Forty-eight percent of the population in Douglas County has at least some college experience, and 19 percent has either a bachelor’s degree or higher. A majority of the county’s individuals (53 percent) have a high school diploma or less as their highest level of educational attainment.
Within Douglas County, there are large differences in educational attainment between races. Within the white population, 26.4 percent have completed a college degree, while 73.6 percent have a high school diploma or less.
Among the African American and American Indian/Alaska Native population, a majority have a high school diploma as their highest educational attainment, and approximately one in three have a college degree. Approximately 59 percent of the Asian population and 27.6 percent of Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and individuals identifying as two or more races have completed a college degree.
Employment Characteristics
Almost 77 percent of employed individuals in Douglas County work for a private employer. This can be compared to 78.9 percent in the United States and 83 percent in Illinois, respectively. The county also has a higher share of self-employed individuals as compared to the United States and Illinois.
Douglas County exceeds state and national levels with its high share of workers in the natural resources, construction and maintenance and production, transportation and material moving sectors. The management, business, science, and arts sectors are considerably smaller than state and national levels. The percentage of workers in sales and office occupations is slightly higher than the national and state averages.
The manufacturing sector employs 23 percent of Douglas County workers, significantly higher than U.S. and state shares. Agriculture and retail trade jobs are also more common in Douglas County than in the state and nation. However, there is a smaller share of jobs in the professional, scientific, and management industries in the county compared to Illinois and the U.S.
Unemployment Characteristics
Between 2008 and 2017, the unemployment rate in Douglas County has been lower than both the state and national rates. The Douglas County unemployment rate followed the same trend as the state and nation during and after the economic recession peaking in 2010, then steadily declining to just over three percent in 2017.
The unemployment rate by age for Douglas County, Illinois and the United States shows that Douglas County has lower unemployment rates among all age cohorts compared to state and national levels with the exception of the 25 to 29 years age cohort and 65 to 74 years age cohort. In Douglas County, individuals 16 to 19 years of age have the highest unemployment rates, while the lowest levels of unemployment are observed among individuals from 30 to 44 and those over 75 years of age.
Unemployment rates tend to decrease with higher educational attainment, as shown in the 2012-2016 estimates table. The Douglas County unemployment rates by educational attainment are similar to those of the state and nation, however Douglas County has a lower unemployment rate among the working population overall.
In all of these areas, unemployment rates tend to be higher among individuals with a disability or those living below the poverty level. At county, state, and national levels, the unemployment rate is more than twice as high among those below poverty compared to the general population. However, the unemployment rate for this population in Douglas County is slightly lower than that of Illinois and the United States. Among the population with a disability, unemployment rates are approximately nine percent, which is significantly higher than unemployment rate for the overall population over 16 years of age, but lower than the state and national rates for the same population.
Commuting Characteristics
County-level commuting characteristics within the region are summarized for both workers and residents. In 2015, 7,867 Douglas County residents were employed, while the total number of employed individuals working in the county was 9,240. Douglas County has a higher number of employees working outside the county than the number of employed individuals living in the county. Most of the county’s residents work in another county, while 32 percent both reside and work in Douglas County.
Industry Characteristics
Looking at the largest industries in Douglas County based on 2-digit NAICS codes, manufacturing is by far the largest industry in the county by both the number of jobs and their relative concentration compared to the nation and the state.
The location quotient of manufacturing is 4.05 which is considerably higher than that of the second-largest industry of government. Jobs in retail trade and construction also employ many workers in the county, but have experienced a decrease between 2007 and 2017. The accomodation and food services and health care and social assistance industries have increased by more than 200 jobs between 2007 and 2017. The retail trade industry has experienced a reduction of jobs by more than 500 in 10 years. While wholesale trade increased by 87 jobs, many of the industries that employ fewer individuals also saw decreases across the time period. There was a slight overall increase (67 jobs) in the total number of jobs in Douglas County between 2001 and 2017.
Detailed employment change in Douglas County between 2007 and 2017 reveals that the largest change in the number of jobs was seen among personal care aides, growing by 71 jobs (394 percent) in 10 years. In terms of growth in number of jobs, fast food and counter workers and general and operations managers increased by over 50 jobs with growth of 22 percent and 42 percent respectively. Construction laborer jobs also increased by 18% between 2007 and 2017.
The 20 biggest industries based on number of employees in Douglas County are shown. Metal window and door manufacturing industries are the largest employers in the county, with more than 600 total employees. Metal window and door manufacturing are also the largest in terms of payroll and economic output, with a payroll of more than 41.8 million dollars in 2016.
Local government and education employ the second highest number of employees (560), with a payroll of over $32 million. Automobile sector produces the highest output, of over $472 million with a total of 323 employees.
The 20 biggest industry sectors by total sales in Douglas County are listed. The largest industry is basic chemical manufacturing with annual sales exceeding $175 million in 2017. The majority of the sales for chemical manufacturing are export sales. The architectural and structural metals manufacturing industries also have the second highest annual sales of nearly $170 million.
The three largest NAICS industries including crop production have a vast majority of their total sales occurring outside the county, while many of the smaller industries have a higher ratio of sales within Douglas County.
Largest Business in Douglas County
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were more than 590 establishments in Douglas County in 2016. An establishment is a single physical location at which business is conducted or where services or industrial operations are performed.
The 15 largest employers are listed by number of employees. C.H.I. Overhead Doors has the highest number of workers, with 600 employees. The Libman Company is also a major employer, with 300 individuals working in Douglas County.
Business size within the county was categorized by number of employees. Most businesses in Douglas County have between one and four employees, accounting for almost 34 percent of the total establishments in the county. There are also a relatively large share of companies with between five and 19 employees. The share of businesses that each employ more than 250 individuals is less than one percent.
Projected Employment Change By Industry
The projected employment change by industry between 2017 and 2027 for Douglas County is depicted. The largest percentage changes are expected to occur in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction category. In terms of actual jobs, the manufacturing sector is expected to experience the most growth, with an increase of more than 270 jobs. The health care and social assistance industry is also expected to experience an increase of more than 200 jobs, a growth of 33%. Construction industry is expected to grow by 65 jobs.
Finance and insurance and retail trade jobs in the county are projected to experience a slight decline over the time period. Overall, the total number of jobs county-wide is projected to expand by about nine percent, an increase of 788 jobs over the 10-year period.
Occupational Characteristics
Tuscola and Arthur had the greatest number of unique job postings in Douglas County between April 2017 and April 2018. Tuscola had the most job postings, with more than 1,200 positions for hire over a 12-month period.
According to Top Companies Posting in Douglas County, CRST International, Inc. had the highest number of job postings. Another freight company, USA Truck Inc. had the second highest number of job postings followed by insurance and financial services company Mutual of Omaha.
The most common job titles in demand in Douglas County between April 2017 and April 2018 were heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers. There was also a high demand for first-line supervisors of retail sales workers and insurance sales agents in the county.
Occupational Characteristics
The most sought-after common skills* in Douglas County between April 2017 and April 2018 are sales, management, customer service, and innovation. Sales was the most desired skill, and was a requirement in 18 percent of the job postings. Management, customer service, and innovation skills were also in high demand, appearing in between 7 and 16 percent of the job postings county-wide.
For the top 15 most sought-after qualifications* in Douglas County, A commercial driver’s license (CDL) was the most common qualification requested in job postings from April 2017 to April 2018. There were 1,087 postings for CDL qualification. There were also postings seeking various nursing qualifications, the most common being certified nursing assistant and licensed practical nurse.