Portsmouth Naval Shipyard economic impact $1.3B: Here's towns with most workers, payroll
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard’s economic impact, led by its high civilian employee payroll and burgeoning contracted services, has topped $1.3 billion, according to an annual report.
The Seacoast Shipyard Association, an advocacy group not directly affiliated with the yard’s growing operations on Seavey Island in Kittery, Maine, released its 2021 report Thursday.
At $1,322,611,898, the shipyard’s economic impact in 2021 represented a nearly 40% increase from the yard’s 2020 economic impact, which was close to $948 million in the year the coronavirus pandemic hit. The yard's economic impact in 2019 was $1.16 billion, a big increase over the $882 million reported in 2018.
The Seacoast Shipyard Association’s formula for calculating the shipyard’s economic impact is a tally of civilian employee payroll, military payroll, the cost of purchased goods and services, and contracted services.
The shipyard’s civilian payroll, which the Navy hopes to increase by 1,200 workers in the next two years, was $670.7 million in 2021. The shipyard’s contract services, including building maintenance, military construction projects and utilities, reached over $469 million, a sizable hike from the $87 million-plus in 2020, the first pandemic year.
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The shipyard’s military payroll reached $48.7 million in 2021, a year-over-year dip of less than $1 million compared to 2020. Navy members comprise the bulk of the 2021 total with nearly $32 million in payroll, while Coast Guard members were paid about $17 million.
The shipyard spent more than $133.7 million on goods and services in 2021, according to the report.
Thursday's release of the report came one year to the day after Carlos Del Toro, secretary of the Navy, took part in a groundbreaking ceremony for a $1.7 billion, multi-mission dry dock being built at the shipyard in Kittery.
Mona Potter, treasurer and secretary of the Seacoast Shipyard Association, said the annual economic impact report dates back to 1978.
Maine, NH and Mass.: Breaking down shipyard employees and payroll by state
The civilian employee population at the shipyard hit 7,257 in 2021, a nearly 400-person decrease from 2020. The Seacoast Shipyard Association, however, clarified the number of employees paid in 2021 totaled 7,949 because in some instances, more than one person held the same position.
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The majority of the shipyard's civilian employees live in Maine, with 4,410 residents who were paid more than $380 million in 2021, according to the report.
New Hampshire had 2,995 shipyard employees who were paid more than $248 million.
There were 216 Massachusetts residents who worked at the shipyard earning nearly $19 million.
A total of 328 civilian shipyard employees lived in other states, earning more than $23 million in 2021.
Which cities and towns have the most Portsmouth Naval Shipyard employees?
The Seacoast Shipyard Association lists Sanford, Maine (including Springvale, a village within the city of Sanford) as the community with the most shipyard employees, followed by Rochester, New Hampshire, and Kittery, Maine.
Read on for a breakdown of cities and towns in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts:
Top 10 Maine shipyard cities and towns
Sanford/Springvale
Total shipyard employees: 499
Total civilian payroll: $41,459,478.
Kittery/Kittery Point
Total shipyard employees: 438
Total civilian payroll: $37,784,774
Berwick
Total shipyard employees: 437
Total civilian payroll: $37,195,505
South Berwick
Total shipyard employees: 363
Total civilian payroll: $32,301,170
Eliot
Total shipyard employees: 322
Total civilian payroll: $28,732,240
Lebanon
Total shipyard employees: 307
Total civilian payroll: $26,909,041
Wells
Total shipyard employees: 245
Total civilian payroll: $21,416,200
North Berwick
Total shipyard employees: 228
Total civilian payroll: $19,815,290
York
Total shipyard employees: 187
Total civilian payroll: $17,378,170
Biddeford
Total shipyard employees: 186
Total civilian payroll: $15,615,136
Top 10 New Hampshire shipyard cities and towns
Rochester
Total shipyard employees: 478
Total civilian payroll: $38,155,203
Dover
Total shipyard employees: 427
Total civilian payroll: $35,250,289
Portsmouth
Total shipyard employees: 254
Total civilian payroll: $21,826,504
Somersworth
Total shipyard employees: 202
Total civilian payroll: $16,067,271
Barrington
Total shipyard employees: 157
Total civilian payroll: $13,487,874
Farmington
Total shipyard employees: 146
Total civilian payroll: $11,408,102
Newmarket
Total shipyard employees: 102
Total civilian payroll: $8,248,565
Milton/Milton Mills
Total shipyard employees: 101
Total civilian payroll: $8,515,931
Rollinsford
Total shipyard employees: 70
Total civilian payroll: $6,041,960
Strafford
Total shipyard employees: 64
Total civilian payroll: $5,227,105
Top 10 Massachusetts shipyard cities and towns
Amesbury
Total shipyard employees: 29
Total civilian payroll: $2,661,837
Haverhill
Total shipyard employees: 28
Total civilian payroll: $2,202,395
Newburyport
Total shipyard employees: 16
Total civilian payroll: $1,484,358
Salisbury
Total shipyard employees: 14
Total civilian payroll: $1,217,748
Merrimac
Total shipyard employees: 11
Total civilian payroll: $939,493
West Newbury
Total shipyard employees: 6
Total civilian payroll: $521,559
Groveland
Total shipyard employees: 6
Total civilian payroll: $500,361
Newbury
Total shipyard employees: 5
Total civilian payroll: $488,816
Methuen
Total shipyard employees: 5
Total civilian payroll: $384,534
Danvers
Total shipyard employees: 4
Total civilian payroll: $378,923
Shipyard's union leaders praise opportunities, point out areas where help is needed
Alanna Schaeffer, president of the shipyard’s Metal Trades Council, recalled she began a shipyard apprenticeship in 2012. She said it helped her overcome poverty after growing up in Alabama, allowing her to provide herself and her children with a better life.
This year, Schaeffer said unions and management signed a “historic” memorandum of understanding providing shipyard employees who have children with flexible work hours, needed by some due to a shortage of affordable child care in the region.
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This summer, children from 47 families were removed from the child care program at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in August, due to a Department of Defense policy prioritizing children of military personnel over those from families of civilian workers.
“While there are so many things that we’re doing there (the shipyard) in terms of our community and the leaders of our communities, we’ve got work to do to make sure that we’re able to continue to hire the talent that we need and retain the talent that we need,” she said.
Schaeffer, who represents approximately 3,000 workers, added the importance of funding to pay shipyard workers.
“It’s paramount that we have the funding to be able to pay our employees the wages they’re worth and that we are continuing to do that so we can stay the Navy’s premier shipyard,” she said.
Jason Sargent, president of the Federal Managers’ Association, began working at the yard in the late 1990s and recalled people telling him to avoid seeking a job there, as closure appeared imminent.
Twenty-three years since he began his career in base, the outlook on shipyard operations has shifted.
“Our workload is not only steady, it’s going through the roof,” he said during the economic impact report release. “To be able to have a need to service the nation’s Navy ships, and having a dry dock to do that, it just shows our capacity is increasing. With that, we’re hiring more people.”
John Joyal, chairperson of the Seacoast Shipyard Association, retired from the shipyard in 2017 after 40 years working there. Joyal called attention to how close the yard was to being shut down in the early 2000s, despite its importance to military readiness.
“The shipyard is about national security, it’s about bipartisanship,” he said in a nod to representatives of Maine and New Hampshire elected officials in attendance.
Congressional delegations respond to report
Members of the New Hampshire and Maine congressional delegations reacted to the shipyard's $1.3 billion regional impact after the report's release.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, reacted to the release of the economic report, stating she will continue going to bat for the shipyard to get the resources that will be needed to complete ongoing projects, like a new dry dock, and address worker needs, such as access to affordable child care.
“The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is a staple in the Seacoast region and a point of pride for our state," Shaheen said in a prepared statement. "The economic impact report released today underscores the shipyard’s contributions to New Hampshire’s economy at both the local and state level. Its success is a credit to the caliber of its workforce. The shipyard not only boosts the Seacoast’s economic vitality, but it plays a significant role in support of our military readiness and overall national defense."
“The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is critically important to our local economy, national security, and our communities," said Rep. Chris Pappas, D-New Hampshire. "This economic impact report reaffirms the importance of the Shipyard and underscores the need to support the work being done there. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard plays a critical role in keeping America safe all while providing good, high-paying jobs in our community, and I will always fight to support the crucial work being done there.”
Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-New Hampshire, stated that the economic impact report is another opportunity for Maine and New Hampshire’s elected officials to understand what funding and resources the shipyard requires for future success.
“I have visited the shipyard many times and seen firsthand the hard work that the men and women at the shipyard do in service to our state and country, and I’ll continue to push the administration to protect and strengthen its funding,” Hassan said.
Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-ME, stated that the shipyard "provides tremendous value to both the communities and the economies of Maine and New Hampshire.
"This strong report is a testament to the resiliency of PNSY and its workers in the face of a global pandemic and the challenges that ensued," Pingree added. "As a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, I’m proud to fight for funding to support PNSY, so it can continue to be a critical pillar of the Southern Maine economy and our national defense.”
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth Naval Shipyard economic impact report released
