The 37th Annual Mayor’s State of the City Address was held this morning at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center.
Mayor Dan Pope discussed the current and future status of the city’s population, economic development and the plans for maintaining them. He declared the city strong, progressive and a destination for millennials.
The mayor made his way to the stage via a motorized scooter, addressing the audience specifically about the increasing number of millennials living, working and moving to the Hub City.
“For the first time in 2019 the millennial generation, people between the ages of 21 and 36, make up the largest component of the U.S. workforce, outnumbering both Baby Boomers and Gen-xers,” Pope said. “Understanding millennials interests and motivation is critical to developing our local workforce.”
Pope said millennials choose first where they want to live, then they find a job and he wants Lubbock to be a city attractive to millennials.
Pope discussed the importance of maintaining the current status, but being preparing for the continued growth of the city.
“Lubbock’s growth over the last few years is truly impressive,” Pope said. “Our currently population is in excess of 250,000 that makes us the eleventh largest city in the state of Texas and the 83rd largest city in the United States.”
And, Lubbock’s Economic Development Alliance (LEDA) agrees with the mayor’s initiatives.
John Osborne, president and CEO of LEDA, said Lubbock is in a good spot and needs to pay attention to the needs of the millennial generation.
“Lubbock is in a great position right now for our future and we need to keep working on ensuring that our future is bright,” Osborne said. “And the way that you do that, knowing that millennials are a greater percentage of the workforce population, you’ve got to constantly be investing in your city, in a manner that makes it very friendly to that generation of workforce.”
Pope said 17,600 net new jobs have been created in Lubbock and many of those jobs were filled by millennials.
“Higher wages, an excellent quality of life and investments that are making Lubbock an attractive city to the emerging millennial workforce point to a very bright future for Lubbock,” Pope said.
The event was sponsored by the Lubbock Apartment Association and the proceeds from this event will benefit CASA of the South Plains.
