NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — It’s no secret much of Northwest Arkansas’ economic success is rooted in entrepreneurship from poultry pioneers, trucking moguls and a retail giant.

Who will be next? That’s what local economists have been pondering for much of the past year as the area experienced higher unemployment rates and layoffs among its anchor companies.

About 9 percent of the region’s workforce is employed at a corporate headquarters.

Tyson Foods, J.B. Hunt Transport and Walmart comprise a lion’s share of that total, which is almost six times the U.S. average and higher than any other metropolitan statistic area in the nation.

“Our dependence on these core employers has been both an asset and a liability,” said Scott Van Laningham, member of the Northwest Arkansas Council.

No doubt the region’s rapid growth in the past 20 years is linked to the expansion of these anchor corporations and their vendors, said Mike Malone, executive director for the council.

But expansion of the major companies has tapered off and a comprehensive economic plan will hopefully provide the regionwith a blueprint for future development, Malone said.

“We will certainly be examining the culture of entrepreneurship in more detail in the weeks ahead. We will look at whether or not this region is becoming a company town with younger populations taking corporate jobs,” said J. Mac Holladay, CEO with Market Street Services.

The council hired the Atlanta-based business to assess the region’s strengths and weaknesses.

The firm’s first report is a comparative assessment of Northwest Arkansas with Gainesville,Fla., Huntsville, Ala., Lexington, Ky., and Austin, Texas.

Northwest Arkansas is home to a relatively young population. Themedian age is 33.1 years, compared to 37 statewide. The age distribution shows more people 25 years and younger and fewer baby boomers between 45 and 64 years old.

“This bodeswell for the next decade or so as young families begin to establish roots and there are fewer reaching retirement age,” said Matt Tarleton, project manager with Market Street.

The region’s resilience is also visible in its lower unemployment rates with sharp gains in arts, entertainment and recreation jobs even during therecent recession, the report noted.

Low cost of living and low crime rates were also notable strengths in the report, when compared with the other cities.

Weaknesses for the region include higher health care costs. At $80.96 per doctor’s visit, the region is more expensive than the othercities except Lexington.

Limited road infrastructure across the region is seen as one of the greatest limitations to growth.

The average annual wage in Northwest Arkansas was $38,792 in 2009. This was nearly $5,000 less than the national average but more than Gainesville and Huntsville.

“We didn’t see any one area that spelled disaster. Clearly, the region has a lot going right. We hope to help the council uncover possible growth strategies for the next generation. It’s clear there is a great deal of pride in the people of this region who also recognize there is more work to be done,” Holladay said.

News, Pages 1 on 05/12/2010