Jonesboro Unlimited is pleased to announce the addition of 916 new full-time jobs in 2018. The new jobs come from five target industries identified by Jonesboro Unlimited as part of its five-year strategic plan.
The job numbers come from Jonesboro Unlimited’s Annual Inventory of New and Expanded Industries and represent results from nearly 70 local companies in five targeted industries: healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, professional services, and agriculture. Healthcare and manufacturing represented the largest share of the 916 new jobs with 375 jobs added in healthcare and 323 new jobs added in manufacturing.
“These numbers are an impressive reminder of how strong Jonesboro’s economy continues to be. Adding over 900 jobs across our five targeted industries shows that Jonesboro continues to be a city where companies want to invest and grow. In 2016, we set out with the goal of 2,500 direct, new jobs. Two years into our five-year plan, we are almost 90% of the way to hitting that mark.”
--Mark Young, President, Jonesboro Unlimited
In the first two years of Jonesboro Unlimited’s five-year strategic plan, 2,184 direct, new, jobs have been created in Jonesboro Unlimited’s five target industries. With that total, Jonesboro Unlimited stands at over 87% of the goal of 2,500 new jobs.
“This is fantastic news for our city. We knew 2,500 direct, new, jobs, was an ambitious goal. We are pleased to see that two years into our five-year plan, we are ahead of the pace to reach the mark we set two years ago.”
--Chris Barber, Chairman, Jonesboro Unlimited
The survey also represents how local employers are reinvesting in Jonesboro. Spending on capital investment was over $98.5 million in 2018 and over $200 million in the last two years combined.
Jonesboro Unlimited also premiered a new video promoting Jonesboro at the annual meeting. The two-and-a-half-minute-long video is designed to create community pride and be a recruiting tool for Jonesboro employers to help bring in highly skilled workers.
“We know we have a special community here in Jonesboro. We feel this video highlights the heart and soul of our community. When someone asks the question ‘what’s Jonesboro like?’ we want our local employers and business to show them this. That’s our goal.”
--Mark Young, President, Jonesboro Unlimited
The video was produced entirely in Jonesboro. It was written by Jonesboro Unlimited’s Director of Communications, Craig Rickert, and produced by Workhorse Creative Productions of Jonesboro. The original music for the video was composed and arranged by Dr. Tim Crist of the Arkansas State University Department of Music. It can be found on youtube, the Jonesboro Unlimited Facebook page, Linkedin, and at Jonesborounlimited.com.
