Little Rock Business and Careers
March 23, 2008
Little Rock Industry and Economic Overview
Arkansas is mainly a rural and agricultural state. Little Rock sits in the central portion of Arkansas and serves as not only the capital, but also as the cultural and economic cornerstone of the state. For decades, rice, cotton and soybeans were the main money generator for the state. It wasn’t until the middle of the 1950s that Winthrop Rockefeller initiated an aggressive program to attract manufacturers to the state. Very few large corporations moved in, but hundreds of companies employing 1000 or fewer employees did. This was the beginning of Little Rock’s - and Arkansas’s profitable industrialization. Coincidently, Rockefeller later served as governor of Arkansas as well.
Like many capital cities, local, state and federal governments are the major employers in Little Rock. Also important to the Little Rock economy are medical facilities, banks and various service industries. Electronics manufacturers as well as informational technology services have also infiltrated the Little Rock economy as players of force today. Downtown Little Rock underwent major revitalization and as a result experienced an influx of major corporations. In turn, a variety of other supporting industries have risen making the Little Rock economy see massive growth. Little Rock is reported to be one of the top fifteen most aggressive development markets of the new century. In the past 20 years, Little Rock’s economy has doubled and is expected to double again in the next 20 years.
Another explosively dynamic economic force out of Little Rock is the exporting of aircraft and spacecraft. Point in case, the revenue from such exports grew from $35 million in 2000 to $441 in 2002. Central Flying Service Inc. and Dassault Aviation are both headquartered in Little Rock. In 2002, Raytheon Aircraft also introduced production facilities in Little Rock adding another 350 jobs to the local economy.
Biotechnology research is also a lucrative factor for the development of the Little Rock economy. The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is the foundation of the state’s biotechnology research and development. It sponsors and incubates emerging biotechnology companies and is poised to sustain significant control over the sector in the future.
Agriculture, of course, continues to play a major role in the advancement of the Little Rock economy as well. Soybeans, timber, rice, metals, textiles, paper products and poultry are the most prominent exports thereof. Approximately 25% of all of the jobs in the state of Arkansas are agriculturally based. Little Rock is also very strategically placed as a center for trade and commercial advancement for the state and the entire region.
Pulaski County - of which Little Rock is the seat - was designated as an Urban Empowerment Zone in 2002 and as a result is receiving a significant portion of a $17 to $22 billion (with a “B”) program to stimulate growth and revitalization through 2009. Large scale businesses have and continue to flock to Little Rock and its surrounding areas. Little Rock has been named as the second most diverse economy in America and is all but guaranteed a fantastic economic future.
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[…] Business and Finance Question wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt Little Rock Industry and Economic Overview Arkansas is mainly a rural and agricultural state. Little Rock sits in the central potion of Arkansas and serves as not only the capital, but also as the cultural and economic cornerstone of the state. For decades, rice, cotton and soybeans were the main money generator for the state. It wasn’t until the middle of the 1950s that Winthrop Rockefeller initiated an aggressive program to attract manufacturers to the state. Very few large corporations mov […]