[Not a valid template] Wilmington and New Castle County are not known as technology hot spots.
However, an analysis from commercial real estate giant, CBRE makes a case for the state creating highly sought-after tech jobs.
After taking note of the state’s No. 12 spot in the Bloomberg 2016 State Innovation Index and a No. 6 rating from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, CBRE took a closer look at the figures.
According to the CBRE analysis, New Castle County beat out its neighbors in technology employment growth of its Philadelphia Metro neighbors – “by a lot.”
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics figures, New Castle County added 4,000 new technology jobs, CBRE noted.
“With a total population under one million, Delaware may be small, but these rankings and data are reflected in the reality on the street – threaded around Wilmington’s Market Street corridor and in the LOMA (Lower Market) district are all manners of tech and creative design firms, a great number of which have sprung up in the past few years,” CBRE reported.
CBRE took note of companies like the Archer Group, a marketing and tech firm; the Zip Code Wilmington coding program; 1313 Innovation and its affiliation with Philadelphia-based Benjamin’s Desk; and expansion taking place at The Mill co-working center after its 12,000 square feet of space was quickly filled in 2016.
And while some have lamented the lack of young people staying in the state, “Wilmington has seen its millennial population cohort rise since 2010, with people ages 18-34 now accounting for 26.3 percent of the population,” the CBRE reported noted.
The report did point out that Wilmington and nearby Camden, NJ have been “undergoing a similar process of reinvention amidst persistent social and economic issue.”
However, Wilmington has seen its population of millennials grow by 1.4 percent since 2010, more than three times the growth seen in Camden.
The growth in technology jobs is good news for New Castle, a county that has seen the loss of two auto plants, a steel mill and continuing cutbacks at DuPont Co. and AstraZeneca over the past decade.
CBRE has an office in Wilmington, as well as locations in Center City Philadelphia and suburban areas.
