More Jobs Coming to Kansas this Month

It seems as though the state of Kansas is headed in the right direction when it comes to adding new jobs to its economy. Earlier this week, hundreds of new jobs within the state were announced and it seems as though there could be more on the horizon.

Pat George, the Kansas Secretary of Commerce, noted that there are more company expansions and that new job announcements are on the way. George said that over the next month, the job openings will be made public to the residents of the state.

George was quick to give credit to the lawmakers of the state, saying that they have worked diligently to turn the state in a business-friendly one as much as possible.

As an example of the jobs announced earlier this week, AT&T said that it is increasing its employee totals in Wichita by 70 people. George hopes that this announcement will be just one of many within the state in the coming months.

“We’ve been working on a number of projects and we’ll have more announcements over the next 30 days,” George told KAKE in Kansas.

Other announcement from earlier this week were made by Creekstone Farms Premium Beef in Arkansas City and Hostess Brands in Emporia. At Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, there will be 300 new employees hired, and at Hostess Brands, there will be 50 new jobs added.

Without disclosing any information, George noted that future announcements he could make in the near future might cause the new job total to climb to more than 1,000 across the state. In speaking about the lawmakers in the state, George mentioned Governor Sam Brownback’s efforts to minimize and possibly get rid of income tax in order to acquire the company expansions in the state.

George also told KAKE in Kansas that businesses are pleased with the infrastructure of the state’s transportation and how educated the employees are.

“Our infrastructure is great,” George said. “We have great highways, our school system, our workforce, especially in manufacturing and advanced manufacturing.”

The Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, Gary Plummer, spoke during the AT&T announcement in Wichita on Tuesday of this week. Plummer said, “Kansas has an outstanding reputation as a good place to do business and create new ideas.”

The Department of Commerce is commonly given the ability to negotiate with companies looking to expand in Kansas or move to Kansas when it comes to incentive packages and other types of deals. The authority is granted to the Department of Commerce by the Kansas Legislature.