How important is the hoopla regarding big corporations moving to your town?

This past week, Siemens Energy made an announcement that they are expanding their plant in Charlotte. The plan will add about 850 jobs to the area, although 110 of those jobs will be transfers.

As expected, our area is celebrating this. After all, it only took about $22 million over 12 years from the state, and $57 million in bonds from the city and county. That translates to more than $26,000 per job from the state, and $67,000 per job from the city and county. That's almost $94,000 per job! Also, what's not covered are the 550 jobs lost in Ontario, Canada as a result. I'm sure there's not much celebrating up there.

Is this effort worth it? The costs don't reflect efforts by local governments to bring jobs here. It certainly looks good for the politicians, but what about the citizens? There is certainly optimism that some higher paying jobs are coming, and it's a boost in particular to the manufacturing sector. The question is whether the skill sets are available within the region to help satisfy the available job openings. With an unemployment rate of over 11%, this is encouraging. Also to consider are "support" businesses such as restaurants located near the plant which will hopefully see an improvement in their business as a result.

Are there better ways for local and state governments to create jobs? I think so. What is lost is the fact that most jobs are with companies of fewer than 100 employees. Large corporations account for less than 3% of all jobs out there. Why isn't there more focus on helping small businesses get up and running? I believe that the answer comes down to simply money and politics. Large corporations expend a great deal of money for tax favors, and an announcement like Siemens makes our politicians look good. Far less sexy is creating an environment through the tax code that encourages the individual to take the risk of pursuing entrepreneurship, or to small companies to expand. This is demonstrated in another article the next day detailing how "green" jobs are slow to start, and that the jobs small companies create, typically in small numbers that are easy to track.

If you're a job seeker, make sure that you don't discount these smaller companies in searching for work that you love.