ROGERS - Northwest Arkansas businesses of all sizes added workers this year, fueling economic growth leaders hope carries into 2014 and beyond.
“We are a job growth story here, plain and simple,” said Mike Harvey, chief operating officer of the Northwest Arkansas Council. “We need to stay vigilant in keeping the work force growing.”
He said the strategy moving forward will focus on workforce development, attraction and retention. Much of that work will involve research and marketing programs that will identify needs and spread the word through marketing projects.
October employment numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show the metropolitan statistical area’s workforce grew 4.5 percent to 224,200 this year from 214,600 in October 2012. The work force grew 11.2 percent since October 2010.
Harvey said the area is on track to gain about 10,000 jobs this year. He expects that growth to extend into next year.
The area’s unemployment rate remains well below the national level. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the area’s October unemployment rate at 5.1 percent; the national rate was 7.3 percent. The area’s metropolitan statistical area includes Washington, Benton and Madison counties in Arkansas and McDonald County, Mo.
The low unemployment rate isn’t keeping people from applying for jobs.
Mel Redman, president and chief executive officer of Redman & Associates, said his company received 200 applications in the first week after announcing it would hire 74 people in the next three years. He said the company has received more than 1,000 applications for 20 openings since the Oct. 7 announcement.
Redman & Associates manufactures battery-powered ride-on toys sold at Wal-Mart and is moving production of 6-volt toys from China to Rogers.
“There is a bigger job need in Northwest Arkansas than the numbers reflect,” he said. “People are excited about new manufacturing positions.”
The company moved its sales and executive offices from Bentonville into a 275,000-square-foot factory at 1300 N. Dixieland Road in Rogers a couple of weeks ago. Redman said the company will start hiring manufacturing positions in January and production will start in March. The average wage at the plant will be $18 an hour.
“I’m amazed at the number of applicants we’ve had, and we’ve reviewed every application,” he said.
Redman & Associates’ decision to move to Rogers is part of Wal-Mart’s “Made in the USA” campaign to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. The job announcement included Gov. Mike Beebe and Bill Simon, president and chief executive officer for Wal-Mart U.S.
Many new jobs across the two-county area have ties to one of the area’s and the nation’s largest employer - Wal-Mart.
Cameron Smith, president and founder of executive recruitment firm Cameron Smith & Associates in Rogers, recently hired five recruiters and is expanding services.
“My prediction for all of Arkansas is lukewarm, but for Wal-Mart suppliers it’s very encouraging,” he said.
The biggest job development in 2013 came on the heels of implementation of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The federal government awarded a contract to process and verify health insurance applications to British company Serco, which in turn chose Rogers for one of four processing sites. Serco has added 1,400 jobs to the area since October.
Most new jobs in Northwest Arkansas arrive without fanfare.
“It’s two becoming three,and five becoming seven,” said Kathy Deck, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas. “That is where job growth happens and accounts for hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs.”
Harvey said most growth this year came 10 or fewer jobs at a time.
“It’s what I like to call nickel and dime growth,” he said, adding that most new jobs are created by existing employers.
Northwest Arkansas’ focus is shifting to a more regional approach.
“It’s Northwest Arkansas competing against areas like Kansas City, Dallas and Chicago and not Rogers competing against Fayetteville,” said Steve Cox, vice president of economic development for the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce. “The Northwest Arkansas Council has helped us be more regional.”
Bill Rogers, vice president of communications and special projects at the Springdale Chamber of Commerce, said the council’s marketing efforts, such as the digital ambassador program it launched in November, are helping the area grow. The program asks residents to sign up and spread good news about Northwest Arkansas through social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
“The council makes our jobs better and makes the whole region better,” he said.
Tom Ginn, Bentonville/ Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce’s vice president of economic development, said the council’s business retention and expansion program has helped chambers get more involved with existing businesses and allows business leaders to share their opinions in a confidential manner.
“The regional effort needs to keep going forward,” he said. “We want to increase the size of the pie so everyone’s slices get bigger.”
Cox said when he was showing Serco officials potential office locations, he included a site in Bentonville.
“The regional plans are really starting to take effect. We talk to each other and help each other out,” he said. “If I have a site or know of a site in another city, I will recommend it.”
Harvey said a big piece of his job is to build relationships with the companies that help businesses decide where to locate. He said about 250 firms represent two-thirds of business relocation work each year. Many site selection companies are in New York, Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta.
“I want to meet as many of those people as possible,” he said. “We are not on all the maps yet because we haven’t officially hit a half million people yet.”
Even as area leaders work together, each also focuses on building a strong, diverse employment base in their respective communities.
Harvey said the area’s diverse job growth should continue into the new year. A strengthening housing market will push construction numbers higher. New restaurants and stores entering the area will add retail jobs. And a growing population base will increase the need for service providers from doctors to teachers.
Some manufacturers have already announced new jobs, and several others have plans on the drawing board.
Ginn said Wal-Mart’s Made in the USA initiative has the potential to draw more manufacturing jobs to the area.
“Our location is so central to the U.S. that a company could save millions in transportation costs by moving here and hiring even more people,” he said. “We are very attractive from that standpoint.”
Cox said it is hard to predict when big job announcements will come.
“You could not have told me a year ago that one company was going to bring in 1,400 jobs,” he said, referring to Serco. “Northwest Arkansas has proven to be fertile ground for businesses.”
Arkansas, Pages 8 on 12/30/2013