M1711

The Economic Contributions of Forestry and Forest Products in Smith County

Smith County

The forestry and forest products industries are a major component of Smith County’s economy. The forest-related economic sectors generate value not only within their own sectors but also in other sectors of the economy. The multiplier effect of economic activity in one sector and the impacts on other sectors can be estimated using input-output analysis. Using 2022 data, this study estimates the economic contribution of the forestry and forest products industries to Smith County, Mississippi.

Employment and Income Contributions

Forest-related economic activity in Smith County during 2022 generated 1,388 jobs and nearly $96.89 million in income. That’s about 28.21 percent of jobs and 38.64 percent of income in the county. Employment is the number of full- and part-time jobs in all sectors of the economy. Income includes all forms of employment income, including employee compensation (wages and benefits) and proprietor income, also referred to as labor income.

Total Output and Value-Added Contributions

Over $656.21 million, or about 40.92 percent of economic output in Smith County, is generated by the forestry and forest products industries. Forest-related value-added amounted to over $249.85 million, or about 47.78 percent of all value-added in the county. The value of all goods and services produced is defined as total output. Value-added is a portion of total output and represents the creation of new wealth.

**Table 1. Contributions from forest-related sectors on employment and income in Smith County, Mississippi, 2022.**
Sectors	Number of Jobs	% of County	Income ($)	% of County
Direct Contribution from Forest Related Sectors
Forest Support Service	20	0.41	1,084,503	0.43
Logging	191	3.88	14,449,789	5.76
Solid Wood Product	829	16.85	67,993,753	27.11
Pulp and Paper	0	0.00	5,516	0.00
Wood Furniture	2	0.04	0	0.00
Subtotal	1,042	21.17	83,533,078	33.31
Indirect and Induced Contributions on Sectors
Retail and Wholesale Trade	97	1.97	2,356,464	0.94
Real Estate, Finance, and Insurance	22	0.45	449,574	0.18
Services	88	1.79	2,154,201	0.86
Construction and Manufacturing	45	0.91	2,407,616	0.96
Health Care	26	0.53	1,113,305	0.44
Transportation and Warehousing	46	0.93	3,979,968	1.59
Government	11	0.22	502,975	0.20
Agriculture Production and Services	3	0.06	197,336	0.08
Food and Fiber	4	0.08	140,568	0.06
Hotels and Entertainment	2	0.04	39,730	0.02
Education	1	0.02	12,491	0.00
Subtotal	345	7.01	13,354,228	5.33
Total Impact from Forest Related Sector	1,388	28.21	96,887,306	38.64
Rest of the County	3,534	71.81	153,888,151	61.36
Total in County	4,921	100.00	250,775,457	100.00

**Table 2. Contributions from forest-related sectors on total output and value-added in Smith County, Mississippi, 2022.**
Sectors	Output ($)	% of County	Value-Added ($)	% of County
Direct Contribution from Forest Related Sectors
Forest Support Service	1,211,271	0.08	1,101,385	0.21
Logging	23,830,704	1.49	16,058,092	3.07
Solid Wood Product	562,050,492	35.05	204,076,684	39.03
Pulp and Paper	72,922	0.00	6,186	0.00
Wood Furniture	272,726	0.02	1,526	0.00
Subtotal	587,438,115	36.63	221,243,873	42.31
Indirect and Induced Contributions on Sectors
Retail and Wholesale Trade	13,835,395	0.86	6,238,177	1.19
Real Estate, Finance, and Insurance	9,820,649	0.61	6,342,423	1.21
Services	9,318,748	0.58	3,121,645	0.60
Construction and Manufacturing	19,654,695	1.23	5,744,789	1.10
Health Care	2,939,266	0.18	1,282,165	0.25
Transportation and Warehousing	9,347,329	0.58	4,792,272	0.92
Government	624,177	0.04	617,760	0.12
Agriculture Production and Services	2,009,481	0.13	175,803	0.03
Food and Fiber	1,017,275	0.06	200,489	0.04
Hotels and Entertainment	170,026	0.01	77,017	0.01
Education	37,095	0.00	14,282	0.00
Subtotal	68,774,136	4.29	28,606,822	5.47
Total Impact from Forest Related Sector	656,212,251	40.92	249,850,695	47.78
Rest of the County	947,303,905	59.08	273,049,381	52.22
Total in County	1,603,516,156	100.00	522,900,076	100.00

Estimates developed using IMPLAN software and data. Timber harvest value according to the Mississippi Harvest of Forest Products Report.

M1711 (POD-07-25)

Revised by Sabhyata Lamichhane, PhD, Assistant Professor, Niraj Gupta, Undergraduate Student, and Sushma Bhattarai, PhD, Extension Associate I, Forestry; James E. Henderson, PhD, Extension Professor and Head, Coastal Research and Extension Center; and Donald Grebner, PhD, Professor and Head, Forestry. By Shaun M. Tanger, PhD, former Assistant Extension Professor; Marcus K. Measells, formerExtension Associate III, Forestry; and Ian A. Munn, PhD, former Associate Dean and Professor.

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M1711