With More Jobs Than People, Prairie Life Has Its Payoffs [View All]

[Khephra]

With More Jobs Than People, Prairie Life Has Its Payoffs
Nebraska Appeals to Big-City Fatigue, Hometown Loyalty

By T.R. Reid
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, November 27, 2004; Page A03

SIDNEY, Neb. -- "Here's our problem," says City Manager Gary Person, describing an economic plight that most other cities would love to have. "We've got a town of 6,200 people, man, woman and child. And we've got 6,400 jobs to fill."

Fueled by the explosive national growth of a local retailer and by a general wave of prosperity here on the prairie, Sidney's economy is growing so fast that the town finds itself with more jobs than people. And these days, that pleasant predicament is reflected across Nebraska.

As a result, Republican Gov. Mike Johanns has launched a nationwide recruiting drive to persuade people to come to the Cornhusker State and fill some of those open jobs.

"A lot of states have too many workers and not enough jobs," says Richard Baier, Nebraska's director of economic development. "They're offering all sorts of tax breaks and relocation funding to lure employers. We've got the opposite problem -- we are beating the bushes to fill the jobs we already have."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15372-2004Nov26.html