OCR Text |
Show PART III PRESENT STATUS OF DEVELOPMENT Population The estimated population for 1965 was 337,000 (for the economic sub- regions). Population changes by economic subregions from 1940 to 1965 are indicated below. Thus the population increased 24 percent from 1940 to 1965 but from 1960 to 1965 decreased slightly less than 1 percent. The overall growth rate from 1940 to 1965 was about half the national rate and about a fifth of the rate for the 11 western states. The popula- tion trends vary widely by subregions. In the Green River Economic Sub- region the population was about the same in 1960 as in 1940, following an increase from 1940 to 1950 and then a decline from 1950 to 1960. Popula- tion in the Upper Main Stem Economic Subregion has trended steadily upward from 1940 to 1965. In the San Juan-Colorado Economic Subregion population declined slightly from 1940 to 1950 and then spurted up 74 percent from 1950 to 1960. There was a slight decline from 1960 to 1965. Population Economic _____________________Year_____________^__^____ Subregionl/__________ 19*4-0 1950 i960 1965 (Est.J Green River 103,199 110,460 102,917 100,579 Upper Main Stem 105,099 109,060 128,079 136,725 San Juan-Colorado 63,237_______ft, 634______107,045_______99,625 Total______________271,535 281,154 338,041 336,929 1/ The population for 1965 was 366,029 in the hydrologic region. Employment The regional employment in 1965 totaled 111,39°, or 33*1 percent of the population, as compared with employment totals of 793l8l, 95,717, and 111,642 recorded in the census years 1940, 1950, and i960, respectively (Table 3). While there was relatively little change in the total employ- ment over the 1960-65 period, many of the individual industries during the period experienced significant shifts in their relative positions. Gov- ernment, services, trade, and finance-insurance-real estate had substan- tial increases in their percentage share of the region's total employment. Nominal increases or declines were experienced by the remaining industry categories. Although the region is historically an agricultural and mining area, by I965 wholesale and retail trade, services, public utilities, and gov- ernment accounted for over half the total employment. Agricultural industry employment dropped from 38.2 percent of the total in 1940 to 11.5 percent in 1965, primarily due to enormous increases in efficiency through farm consolidations, mechanization, and other tech- nological innovations. 32 |