Looking forward: The transformation of Camden County is well underway, with significant signs of success

Looking forward:

The transformation of Camden County is well underway, with significant signs of success

With its strategic location along the Delaware Valley, Camden County is no longer just a suburb of Philadelphia but rather a growing metro anchoring a bevy of opportunities for the South Jersey region. The county’s overall affordability, robust healthcare sector and family-friendly neighborhoods exemplify the transformation happening across the river. Its efforts toward infrastructure improvements, workforce development and economic diversification make the case that Camden County’s best days are just ahead.

With a rich history rooted in the early days of American history, Camden County features 37 municipalities serving the needs of its 513,000 residents, as of the 2020 census. While the COVID-19 health crisis kneecapped the county’s pre-pandemic unemployment rate of 4.5% in March 2020, the overall snapshot of the local economy paints a brighter picture more than a year into the pandemic era. Importantly, the unemployment rate has clawed back more than half the peak percentage losses suffered in May 2020 (16.9%) to stand at 7.2% in May 2021, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Trending lower month after month, Camden County’s jobless rate reflects New Jersey’s overall 7.3% as of June 2021.

A decisive win for the county throughout the pandemic has been its handling of the coronavirus vaccination campaign, a shared public-private effort that has been key in meeting the needs of county residents. “During the pandemic, we shifted our focus completely to help with COVID-19 testing logistics in the city and partnered with other nonprofits to distribute food to those in need. One of the ways we look at our station and standing in the community, is to make sure that we can always be nimble enough to adapt to changing environments and the changing needs of the community,” Camden Community Partnership, Inc. President and CEO Kris Kolluri told Invest:.

As of July, Camden County stood ahead of the country as a whole, with 70.7% of all adults with at least one dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In comparison, nationwide, 68.6% of adults had received at least one dose as of July. Though not out of the woods yet as it relates to the pandemic, stabilizing unemployment rates and a successful COVID-focused risk-management approach bode well for the county’s economic development efforts in an economy reshaped by the coronavirus.( )