Jill Busby said Wednesday that there are signs of improvement in the Pike County economy, including growth in the plastic bag manufacturing industry around Summit and in the timber industry in Osyka.
Busby, executive director of the Pike County Economic Development District, spoke to the McComb Rotary Club. She said that while work continues to find new businesses, state information shows a better chance of existing businesses creating jobs.
In 2015-16, nearly two-thirds of the economic development announcements by the Mississippi Development Authority involved existing business that were expanding. Nationally, 78 percent of such events involve existing businesses.
Busby said potential new industries have become even more selective, and typically remove a county from its list if developed land is unavailable, or if environmental approval and infrastructure is not already in place.
“We’re not in a position any more where you can just take someone to a field and say, ‘Maybe in two years we’ll have this ready,’ ” she said.
She noted that while there has been criticism of the price Pike County paid for the Gateway Industrial Park at Fernwood, she believes the cost of the property is comparable to those in other areas around the state. It also gives the economic development district a prepared site to show businesses.
Busby said one of the publicly funded agency’s important missions right now is to become certified as an ACT Work Ready Community. That would help the district compile data on workforce skills and match that information to the needs of employers. It could make a difference at a time when studies show there is a greater demand for skilled workers than the current labor force can supply.
Only five counties in Mississippi have received the certification, Busby said.
Busby said companies who have looked at Pike County but located elsewhere say workforce skills here are a drawback.
“We need to be able to show we have an educated and skilled workforce,” she added.
