Monmouth County again was among the nation’s leaders in job growth and nonresidential development, according to the Monmouth County Department of Economic Development and Tourism.

The county’s nonresidential construction totaled $34,311,681 in the fourth quarter of 2004, marking the 12th straight quarter of $30 million-plus growth. That makes Monmouth County one of the fastest-growing and most prosperous counties in the United States, Bea Duffy, the department’s director, said in a press release.

“Nearly every economic indicator is positive, from job development to corporate attraction and retention to future private investment,” she said. “The Milken Institute ranks us 10th in the nation’s top 200 markets, the Small Business Administration ranks us second in the state for small business loans, and at least three of the state’s top commercial real estate firms say our office vacancy is under 10 percent.”

The department gathers data on construction permits in four nonresidential construction areas: commercial/retail, office/research, industrial and public. The $34,311,681 worth issued in the fourth quarter declined from the $66,002,771 issued in the third quarter because of a significant decline in public construction spending. For comparison, the results were $68,624,570 in the fourth quarter of 2003, she said.

This report is based on a survey of nonresidential construction permits valued at $25,000 or more that municipalities issue. They do not include permits valued below $25,000. Nine municipalities reported they issued no qualifying permits. Four municipalities are fully developed and do not report.

State-funded school construction had been a major element in nonresidential construction spending. Had school spending even matched third quarter, 2004 totals, the fourth quarter would have been the third best of the year. The decline was largely offset by healthy increases in the office/research and industrial sectors, a clear indication that private investors see Monmouth County as a place to thrive, she said.

Arthur Chasey, the assistant director, said that in terms of proposed square footage of nonresidential construction reviewed by the Monmouth County Planning Board, the county had its best year in the three years this department has collected that data. The board reviewed applications for 2,161,212 square feet of proposed construction in the fourth quarter of 2004, compared to 758,960 in the third quarter and 662,100 in the fourth quarter of 2003.

The county reviewed 5,117,363 square feet of nonresidential construction in 2004 compared to 3,698,392 in 2003 and 4,842,601 in 2002. These results clearly indicate a continued strong growth in construction in coming years. The data also tells where near-term development will occur, he said.

The county’s economic condition can be measured by office occupancy, since those are the jobs that drive the rest of the economy, Chasey said.

“Monmouth County boasts one of the lowest office vacancy rates in the state,” he said. “The office vacancy rate is just 7 percent: 18,756,519 square feet are leased, while just 1,843,275 are vacant.”

The state average remains around 20 percent, due in part by large-scale vacancies in Somerset, Middlesex and Morris counties. Those counties might be considered Monmouth County’s main competitors in the office/research market, Chasey said.

The federal Small Business Administration’s New Jersey District Office reported that it made 179 loans valued at $45.5 million to county businesses in 2004, second only to Middlesex County, where the SBA issued 228 loans valued at $46.6 million. For comparison, SBA in 2003 wrote 203 loans worth $49.8 in Monmouth County, compared to 213 loans for $42.9 million in Middlesex. SBA clearly sees a strong Monmouth County, Chasey said.

The department uses a variety of state and federal agencies, national educational and business research institutes, and large commercial real estate organizations to identify development trends.