Released Sept. 28, 2007
MELBOURNE, Ark. - The Fayetteville shale gas play is opening a window of economic opportunity for Arkansas, said Randy Zook, deputy director for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.
Zook addressed the September board meeting of the North Central Arkansas Economic Development Corporation (NCARED) at Ozarka College in Melbourne. NCARED serves eight counties: Baxter, Fulton, Izard, Marion, Searcy, Sharp, Stone and Van Buren.
"The Fayetteville shale gas play is having a profound impact on the economy of Arkansas. In capital expenditures alone, it has been like three super projects. The 9,500 jobs it brings is like 20 super projects," he said. "For example, Chesapeake Energy starts its workers at $48,000 per year, and in three to four years, they can be making $90,000 to $100,000 per year. And this is a project that will last 25 to 30 years."
Gas can provide other much needed funding through severance taxes, Zook said. Southwest Energy pumps 200 million cubic feet of gas per day, and pays $600 a day severance tax. In Texas, the same gas would generate $95,000. "There’s an opportunity there - somewhere between $600 and $95,000," he said.
The right type of educational tracks are needed to provide Arkansans with the skills needed to fill available jobs.
"If you look around Arkansas, you’ll see 70,000 unemployed people and 70,000 jobs," Zook said. "The problem is that most of these people don’t have the skills to do the jobs. Dassault Falcon Jet Corp. would hire 450 people today if they had the skills, and 150 of these would be engineers.
"The problem with education is there are a lot of resources focused on the top 15 percent of the students, and a lot on the bottom 20 percent. We have to have a lot of people who can make and fix stuff.
"Within the next five years, 35 percent of state government employees will reach retirement age. We have to find a better way to provide technical, engineering, mathematical training for workforce needs, or our state will fall further behind."
In the five-year period ending last year, Arkansas graduated only one person qualified to teach physics, according to Zook. At the same time, we graduated 3,500 physical education teachers.
The good news is that "since January of this year, $1.25 billion of new capital development and 4,200 new manufacturing jobs have been created in Arkansas," he said.
Zook said Gov. Beebe is setting the stage for economic development efforts in Arkansas.
"We have a new governor who gets it - he understands the link between education and economic development, and understands the state’s role in this process," he said, adding that Beebe has instituted a financial incentive package that includes the Governor’s Quick Action Closing Fund and community development block grant funds. Zook also pointed to the appointment of a new director of economic development, Marie Haley, who has broad experience in international and economic development.
Another factor is the communities themselves, Zook said.
"Communities … know it’s a competition, and they must compete to win. Voting for a sales tax to support economic development is an example of what communities are now doing."
Individuals can also take part in economic development, Zook said, by becoming engaged in the local public school and by finding a teacher who will invite you to speak about your job and profession.
The meeting was held September 11.
For information about community development programs, contact your county extension agent or visit http://www.uaex.edu and select Business and Communities. The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the U of A Division of Agriculture.
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http://www.uaex.edu/news/september2007/0928economic.htm
Contacts: Mark Peterson, (501) 671-2253, mpeterson@uaex.edu
Lamar James, (501) 671-2187 or (501) 753-0207, ljames@uaex.edu
