The national economy may barely be chugging along, but the pace is better in Houston. In assessing the third quarter, a panel of experts assembled by the Chronicle focused on Houston's strong job growth - the highest by percentage of the 12 largest metros in the nation - which is buoyed by the surging energy industry. The number of jobs in the area grew by 2.6 percent from September 2010 to September 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Also contributing to the area's relative economic strength are a real estate market that isn't suffering from as many foreclosure problems as other cities and manufacturing gains that create high-paying jobs. Houston Chronicle
Submitted 1 years 231 days ago

Louisiana's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 6.9 percent in September, the lowest rate since 2009, according to the Louisiana Workforce Commission. Unemployment claims for the week ending Oct. 15 decreased to 3,423 from the previous week's total of 3,727. The same week in 2010 saw 3,794 claims, according to the commission. Only 25 states saw a decrease in unemployment in September, according to the commission. Louisiana has the 13th-lowest unemployment rate in the nation and the third-lowest in the South. Shreveport Times
Submitted 1 years 231 days ago

A months-long dispute between two groups over control of the Federal City project in Algiers could be coming to an end, as the sides have announced they will negotiate an agreement on converting the closed Naval Support Activity into a mixed-use development. After an hour in executive session Thursday, the Algiers Development District board authorized its chairman, state Rep. Jeff Arnold, to negotiate a cooperative endeavor agreement with the New Orleans Federal Alliance's chairman, Bill Ryan. The groups have been at odds for months, with the Algiers board saying it is unhappy with the alliance's work and the alliance saying the Algiers board was reneging on a 2008 funding agreement and injecting politics into one of the state's top economic development projects. Times-Picayune
Submitted 1 years 231 days ago

Georgia Power has sent additional workers to oversee its nuclear reactor expansion project at Plant Vogtle, a move to meet stricter company and federal regulatory standards, a company spokesman said. But adding workers has led to “emerging challenges respecting owners’ costs,” according to company documents filed late Friday afternoon. “We needed additional people and resources for oversight on this project,” Georgia Power spokesman Mark Williams said. “We certainly want to meet the standards that we set forth as a company and what the Nuclear Regulatory Commission had, and we needed more people.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Submitted 1 years 231 days ago

AUSTIN — Four companies pulled out of their Texas Enterprise Fund contracts in the past year, and three others changed their agreements as Gov. Rick Perry embarked on a presidential run based on his job creation record. The state originally gave the businesses hundreds of thousands or millions in taxpayer dollars to locate jobs in Texas. Nationwide Insurance, McLane Advanced Technologies, Albany Engineered Composites and FlightSafety International have all ended their state agreements since November 2010. Alloy Polymers terminated its contract in July 2010. Perry’s office didn’t provide reasons for the terminations or details of those contracts in revealing the list this week. “Each contract is different,” Perry spokeswoman Lucy Nashed said. “It’s hard to generalize.” Dallas Morning News
Submitted 1 years 231 days ago

This country has had a tough 10 years. Some have called it America's lost decade beginning with the tragedy of 9/11. As far as the economy goes, except for a brief period between 2004 and 2005, the last 10 years have been difficult. Even in the respite of 2004 and 2005, this magazine wrote that the "economy was choppy" in that there wasn't ever, in our opinion, a total recovery from the recession of 2001-2003. By the time most experts claimed that the worst was over from that recession, the financial services industry, which, at the time accounted for almost 20 percent of U.S. GDP, showed the first signs of a meltdown as early as 2005. It went hand-in-hand that the first indications of a real estate crisis surfaced the same year in Florida. Those meltdowns continue today -- more than six years later. Southern Business & Development
Submitted 1 years 231 days ago

It’s the little-known Nashville space where medicine and the music business meet — a seventh-floor Vanderbilt Medical Center office suite outfitted with grand pianos, guitars, mandolins and hundreds of thousands of dollars in high-tech medical equipment. Its growing roster of country music stars would make it the envy of any major record label: Johnny Cash sang here. And Minnie Pearl. So, too, have Dolly Parton, Faith Hill, Jack White, Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, Patty Loveless, Larry Gatlin and Keith Urban. Willie Nelson dedicated a song — “Superman” — to his experience here: "Well I blew my throat and I blew my tour ..." The Tennessean
Submitted 1 years 231 days ago

Sometime in November, Northeast Mississippi will be feted in a special ceremony at Toyota's plant in Blue Springs, marking its official opening. Officials from Toyota will join state and local honchos to celebrate the first public rollout of the Corolla. They'll talk about the workers who helped made it happen, they'll slap each other on the back, they'll sing the praises of everyone who helped kickstart the automotive era in Northeast Mississippi. And it's been a long wait since Feb. 27, 2007, when the Japanese automaker first announced it was building a $1.3 billion assembly plant here. Read more: NEMS360.com
Submitted 1 years 231 days ago

Zappos is planning to expand its Bullitt County distribution facilities, a major development that could lead to 5,000 new full-time jobs, a company official said Friday. While no official announcement has been made, the company’s Shepherdsville-based recruiting manager Melissa Leary said she has been involved in meetings about the expansion plans. Leary said details of the plan will be made public when they are finalized in the coming months. Las Vegas-based Zappos, which began selling shoes online in 1999, has since expanded into clothing, accessories and apparel. Louisville Courier-Journal
Submitted 1 years 231 days ago

SB&D has been monitoring economic development in the South for almost 20 years now. That being the case, we thought it would be a nice read if we weighed in on which Southern governors we believe were the best and worst at creating jobs and capital investment in their states over the last two decades. We will preface this article with this: several of the governors and former governors listed below are friends of my wife Stacy and me. And a few are not (they like Stacy, just not me). But for the most part, we get along with the Southern governors we know. Southern Business & Development
Submitted 1 years 231 days ago