Editor’s Note: “The Economic Development Side” originally appears in the Pine Bluff Regional Chamber of Commerce’s weekly member e-newsletter. It is written by Rhonda Dishner, the Economic Development Alliance’s executive assistant.
Last week’s Economic Development Side column discussed the location of Jefferson Industrial Park. It was noted that by being located in Jefferson County, the industrial park benefits the entire county — especially the adjacent cities of White Hall and Pine Bluff.
The thousands of jobs created by industries in the park provide millions of payroll dollars for the citizens of these two cities, as well as elsewhere in the county and this area.
Those jobs help sustain and expand shopping, restaurants, banking, real estate companies, and a variety of support services in Pine Bluff and White Hall. The taxes paid by the industries help support neighboring school districts.
Because these jobs are vital to the economy, officials of Pine Bluff, White Hall and Jefferson County have worked together to find ways to support the industries that create them.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Whether it be industrial park roadway widening projects, requests for improvements in highway access, or recognizing outstanding community efforts by the industries and their management, local elected officials are in agreement that the community area’s economic stability depends on a healthy and expanding industrial sector. Economic development is on everyone’s “to do” list.
According to the latest statistics from the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, Manufacturing remains the top employment sector for Jefferson County. For calendar year 2015, Manufacturing accounted for 18.5% of the county’s jobs. Coming in second was Construction at 18%, and in third place was Education and Health Services at 17.6%.
It might be argued that the Manufacturing sector also contributed to job creation in those other areas too. We’ve certainly seen quite a bit of “industrial” construction in Pine Bluff and White Hall in recent months. As already noted, more jobs help create more of the services that make the area grow.
Economic development is definitely on the Alliance’s “to do” list. And Alliance staff will continue working in cooperation with elected officials of Jefferson County (and Pine Bluff, White Hall, Redfield, Altheimer, etc.) in 2017 toward even more growth in the Manufacturing sector.
It’s to the benefit of everyone in the county when each community experiences a pattern of sustained growth. Kudos to anyone who contributes to that success!