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The Economy of the Delta Region

The Delta economy, in 1994, represented 1.5 percent of personal income in California and 1.8 percent of employment (Table 4). The region provides a variety of opportunities for employment. Table 5 gives the interindustry transactions in the Delta economy in 1994. Reading the numbers as columns, the values represent the amount purchased by an industry from different sectors, including value added (essentially labor and profits), as inputs used to produce/provide the industry's goods or services. For example, in order to produce $911 million worth of agricultural goods, the Delta's agricultural industry purchased $77 million worth of inputs from local agricultural producers and $21 million of inputs from the local manufacturing sector, while $584 million went to labor, farm income, and land leases. Reading the numbers as rows, the values represent the amount sold by an industry to other sectors, exported, or sold as final demand. For example, the Delta's agricultural sect or sold $77 million to its own producers and $80 million to local manufacturers, and exported $686 million (or 75 percent) of its output. Total industry outlay (total inputs into production) always equals total industry output (total sales).

Manufacturing is the largest sector, producing $4.5 billion worth of goods in the Delta. This is followed by trade (wholesale and retail), generating $3 billion in output, and services, creating $2.9 billion in output. Agriculture contributes a little under $1 billion to the region. The entire Delta generates $21.2 billion in output.

The transactions tables reflect the fact that the Delta is an open economy which relies greatly on trade with surrounding regions. Exports from the region are $5.6 billion, while intermediate sales to local industries are $4.8 billion.

Table 4: Delta Economy Compared With California, 1994*
  Delta California Percent of California
Personal Income (Mil. $) 10,610 715,922 1.48
Employment (Number Employed) 249,094 14,122,000 1.76

Sources: California Statistical Abstract, 1997, Department of Finance,
and Minnesota IMPLAN Group, Inc. Stillwater, Minnesota.

Table 5: Interindustry Transactions in the Delta Economy, 1994 (millions of dollars)
Producing
Industry		 Local Indsutry Purchase Row
Total		 Total
Exports		 Final
Demand* 		Industry
Output
Agric Mining Construc Manufac TCPU* Trade* FIRE* Services Govern't Other
Agricuture 77 0 4 80 1 4 5 1 0 0 172 686 54 911
Mining 0 2 3 26 21 1 0 1 2 0 55 128 6 189
Construction 4 18 1 37 131 41 82 41 74 0 430 0 1,528 1,958
Manufacturing 21 3 130 442 52 64 13 78 9 0 812 2,957 758 4,527
ECPU* 11 6 30 155 371 95 38 65 38 0 808 929 729 2,466
Trade* 17 3 130 213 88 90 15 50 8 0 613 218 2,211 3,043
FIRE* 19 11 20 44 84 133 340 117 7 0 775 385 1,513 2,673
Services 7 3 72 127 121 246 125 259 14 0 974 9 1,888 2,871
Government 2 1 4 22 38 18 24 20 5 0 133 301 2,187 2,621
Other 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 0 5
Column Total 158 46 394 1,147 906 692 643 632 156 0 4,773 5,616 10,875 21,264
Total Imports* 161 26 382 1,452 428 315 243 327 53 0 3,386  
Value Added* 584 117 1,166 1,884 1,099 1,989 1,763 1,865 2,409 5 12,880
Misc. 8 1 16 45 33 47 24 47 3 0 225
Total Industry Outlet 911 189 1,958 4,527 2,466 3,043 2,673 2,871 2,621 5 21,264

*TCPU = Transport, communications, and public utilites
Trade = Retail and wholesale trade
FIRE = Financial, insurance, and real estate
Exports = Sales outside of the Delta region
Final Demand = Household consumption, federal, state & lo0cal government purchases, inventor purchases, and capital formation
Imports = Purchases outside of the Delta region
Value Added = Empoyment compensation (wages and salaries), proprietors' and other property-type income (dividends and interest), and indirect business taxes.