The Target Industry Analysis is one of several local initiatives to advance
Salem’s economy. In 2008, the City of Salem created the Economic
Development Division (EDD) within the Department of Urban
Development. The EDD’s focus is to facilitate economic opportunities and
private investment in Salem in partnership with the Strategic Economic
Development Corporation (SEDCOR) and other partners.This report presents the results of a focused analysis of selected target
industries for the City of Salem. The purpose of this project is to support
the city’s objective of fostering high wage job growth in Salem, provide
market data on the target industries and recommend steps to better
attract the target industries. The Community Planning Workshop (CPW)
evaluated four industries in this analysis: food processing, metal
manufacturing, biosciences, and renewable energy. The selected
industries highlight Salem’s traditional economic base in agriculture and
steel manufacturing and also look to emerging opportunities in the
bioscience and renewable energy industries