DECATUR — Last year the Arkansas Economic Development Commission signed incentive contracts with 95 companies that will create almost 7,000 jobs.
Total investment for the 95 projects will be more than $1.7 billion, a healthy increase over the previous year when new investments amounted to $1.58 billion. The new jobs created by the projects will pay hourly wages of $14.74, on average. That is down from the previous year, when the new jobs created averaged $15.74 an hour.
The data is in the AEDC’s 2008 Annual Activity Report.
It also contains grim news for the past year - there were 30 plant closings that meant the loss of 4,227 jobs in Arkansas. AEDC staff try to work as diligently with existing facilities in Arkansas as they do to recruit new industries, in order to prevent shutdowns and scaling back of operations.
The incentives offered by the state are available for expansions of existing businesses as well as for industries that are new to Arkansas. Incentives include tax breaks for job creation, help with financing infrastructure and job training.
Our per capita income last year was $31,266, which ranked 47th in the country. That is an improvement since 2006, when it was $28,473 a year and 48th in the nation.
The average hourly salary in Arkansas for manufacturing production workers last year was $14.17, which ranked 49th nationally.
The AEDC has preliminary figures for the first four months of this year. It has signed incentive agreements with companies that have pledged to create 4,062 jobs with average hourly wages of $18.52.
However, the AEDC also reports that during the same four months in early 2009 there were 4,208 job losses in the state due to the closing of 25 companies.
The AEDC has modified its strategies to better meet changing trends. Manufacturing jobs have been in steady decline. In fact, since 1998, the state has lost 71,000 jobs in manufacturing. Even Mexico is losing manufacturing jobs to countries like China and Indonesia, where labor costs are low.
Arkansas is trying to promote “knowledge-based” industries that rely on a well educated and adaptable work force. Those industries include computers, information technology and bio-sciences.
State government and business leaders agree that we need to increase the number of college graduates in the Arkansas work force. Well paid jobs demand mastery of a complex set of skills that college graduates are better prepared to learn.
Revenue Report
The September revenue report for state government brought troubling news. Revenue was down 14.2 percent below the same month last year. Tax collections are a valid indicator of economic activity. An economist for the legislature said it was the worst decrease in memory due to a recession in the economy.
The downturn reflected job losses, as well as lower wages for people who have jobs, in that individual income taxes were down 14.8 percent over the same month last year. Sales and use taxes were down by 11.3 percent, indicating that people have scaled back on shopping.
One economist said the report shows that many people’s investments in stocks and bonds, such as retirement 401(k)s have performed poorly and they have been forced to cut back on spending.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding legislative issues, please contact me at [email protected] or at telephone number 479-787-6500, ext.
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Opinion, Pages 5 on 10/14/2009