George Gongora/Caller-Times file DIVERSE ECONOMY: The combined production of the local refineries amounts to about 4 percent of the nation’s crude oil refining capacity and the industry adds to the diversity of the local economy. Corpus Christi is also a port city, a military community and a tourist destination.

Oil, air, sea provide diversity
Corpus Christi's economy includes Navy, refineries and tourism

By Tricia Schwennesen, Caller-Times

   Corpus Christi can be described as an oilman's mecca, a pilot's wide-open sky or a seaman's homeport.
   It's home to a diversified economy, said Jim Lee, a professor of economics at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.
   Corpus Christi job choices include professions in petroleum processing, a deep-water seaport, cotton and grain sorghum farming, cattle ranching and a vibrant tourist trade that includes spring break hotspots at Padre Island and Port Aransas.
   The local economy is healthier than the national economy, with the unemployment rate holding steady since May at 5.8 percent, Lee said. Government and service industries such as hotels are gaining jobs while manufacturing is losing jobs.
   "Over the long run, we are talking about the past 10 years compared to the next 10 years, we need to decide where we are headed," Lee said. "In the end, it boils down to standard of living."
   Corpus Christi residents can choose to grow in the service industries, create a thriving tourist attraction or move into hi-tech businesses that would create new jobs, he said.
   Invest in hi-tech
   "These days, if we don't invest in hi-tech, we will fall behind other cities," Lee said.
   The city also is home to Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, a four-year and graduate university; Del Mar College, a two-year community college; Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, which includes the Corpus Christi Army Depot; and tourist attractions such as the Texas State Aquarium, Lexington Museum on the Bay and Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History.
   "Higher education and the Naval Air Station are important, but we should not ignore a big part of economy," Lee said. "What's holding up the local economy is tourism and the housing industry."
   Some of the area's other major employers are Bay Inc., an industrial construction firm that employs more than 2,000 people, and Celanese, a chemicals and plastics company that manufactures the drugs acetominophen and Ibuprofen and employs more than 1,000 people.
   H-E-B, a Texas grocery store company, has some 2,200 employees in Corpus Christi, and APAC Teleservices employs 1,200.
   Hospitals, military
   However, the two companies that employ the largest number of people are Christus Spohn Health System with about 4,500 employees, and the Naval Air Station with 8,800 military and civilian employees.
   Lee said the short-term future of the local economy is cloudy.
   "We're not sure how slow the local economy will go," he said. "We have a balance between the positive and the negative signs - job creations versus job losses."
   On the positive side of things, the Port of Corpus Christi Authority has recognized a need to diversify because the oil industry can no longer be relied upon, Lee said. So far, the authority has launched a cruise ship and invested in the Congressman Solomon P. Ortiz International Center.
   'On the leading edge'
   "I think the port is on the leading edge of the diversification, and I think the city should follow their example," he said.
   On the negative side, the oil industry has shrunk in terms of jobs, although production is up, Lee said. And while people complain about high gas prices, given inflation, prices are relatively low. Higher prices are better for the city's economy.
   In the long-term, healthcare that has added jobs over the past two years will continue to grow, Lee predicted.
   "Either this year or next year, I think we will see a lot of changes," Lee said. "Despite all the negative news about the economy, we're still growing."
   The evidence is efforts that would strengthen tourism - a new arena, marina development or a baseball stadium, he said.
   Helpful numbers
   Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce
   Phone: 881-1800
   www.corpuschristichamber.org
  
   Corpus Christi Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
   Phone: 887-7408
   www.cchispanicchamber.org
  
   CORPUS CHRISTI BLACK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
   Phone: 739-4686
   E-mail: ccblackcc@tsproviders.com
  
   Korean Chamber of Commerce
   Contact: Mr. Dae Kwang Kim
   Phone: 888-4436
  
   WorKFORCE NETWORK
   www.twc.state.tx.us
   5155 Flynn Parkway
   Phone: 878-3458
   520 N. Staples St.
   Phone: 882-7491
   4101 Old Brownsville Road
   Phone: 698-1806
  
   U.S. Department of Labor
   Bureau of Labor Statistics
   www.bls.gov/eag/eag._tx_corpuschristi.htm