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Craighead County Jobs Growth Outperforms Nation, State

2 min read

Economic development leaders in Jonesboro welcomed a report showing robust job growth in Craighead County, but they hope it’s just a signpost on the way to even better numbers. 

A report by Garner Economics LLC shows that job growth in county increased 13.6% since 2013, exceeding both national and state growth in that period.

“We’ve got more work to do and we want to keep that growth continuing,” Jonesboro Unlimited President Mark Young said.

Young said the percentage reflects the addition of more than 6,000 jobs and validates the efforts the organization has been making to add jobs in Jonesboro and the surrounding area.

“I think the growth in Jonesboro can be attributed to a couple of things,” Young said. “One, our community has a great business environment so it’s a great place to do business. And … we have existing companies that continue to grow and invest in Jonesboro. And in addition to that we’ve had the benefit of recruiting new companies to our community as well.”

Nationally, jobs grew 9%, according to the Garner report, while the state’s job growth was at 6% in the five-year period.

Arkansas added 64,748 jobs from 2013-2018. Benton County in northwest Arkansas saw the most significant uptick in job growth percentage, adding 20,966 jobs at a 21.2% rate. 

Smaller counties Calhoun and Bradley added a respective 395 jobs for a 15% rate and 436 for a 12.9% rate.

Craighead County’s 13.6% rate represents growth across a number of Jonesboro Unlimited’s target sectors: health care, advanced manufacturing, logistics, agri-business and professional services.

Some of the major players affecting the job growth include expansions at FMH Conveyors, Hytrol Conveyor Company, St. Bernards Medical Center and the opening of a Coca Cola distribution center during the five-year period.

“It really has been multiple sectors,” Young said, “We conduct our own new and expanded industry survey annually, and the last two years in particular the growth has come from all of our sectors but certainly health care, manufacturing and logistics have done extremely well and have added jobs in our community, along with many other sectors as well.”

The average annual wage in Craighead County is $44,000 and Young noted that jobs in the five targeted growth sectors often pay above that. 

“Again, our goal long term is to continue to improve and increase the economy of our community and that’s one way we can do that,” Young said.

Young said companies and businesses are attracted to Jonesboro for a number of reasons, including the presence of Arkansas State University, a sound utility system and a diverse economic base.

The area’s mainstay industries helped Jonesboro to become the state’s only metropolitan area to add jobs “at a modest rate” during the 2008 recession, Young said, noting the recent, positive job numbers aren’t an accident but rather the result of a sound jobs foundation.

“There’s always more to do so we will continue to implement the strategic plan and continue to work hard,” Young said. “We’re pleased with the results but there’s work yet to come.”

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