Chattanooga CAN DO Sets job goal

From July 2005 to June 2006, the Chamber’s Tell the World! campaign played a direct role in expansion and recruitment projects that will create 2,056 new jobs, according to the Chamber’s Chief Economic Development Officer Trevor Hamilton.

"These 2,000 jobs represent more than five times the number of jobs the Chamber assisted in creating in 2003, the year before Tell the World! began," Hamilton said. "The job creation and investment numbers related to the projects the Chamber works directly are perhaps the best indication of the tremendous impact the region’s first comprehensive economic development strategy is having on our economy."

For that reason, the Chamber is adjusting its goals to better reflect its direct efforts in job growth projects during Chattanooga CAN DO, the $10 million, second phase of the Chamber’s initiative to grow the Chattanooga area economy. Chattanooga CAN DO will be conducted from July 2007 to June 2011.

The Chamber is setting four goals that will result from the Chamber’s direct assistance to existing companies considering expansion and out-of-market companies considering where to invest. The goals are to achieve the following during the four-year initiative:

· Public announcements of job growth projects by 60 companies
· A combined $500 million investment
· Creation of 7,500 new jobs
· With wages averaging $37,466, 10%

above Hamilton County’s average wage.

These goals represent a significant increase over current performance, including a 17% increase in the number of new jobs as compared to the average number of jobs announced through Chamber-assisted projects over the last three years and a 15% increase in average annual investment for these projects over the same period, Hamilton said.

According to the Economic Strategy Center of Atlanta, achieving these goals will have broad impact on the regional economy including:

Creation of 8,073 additional ripple-effect jobs for a total of 15,573 jobs
Expansion of local payrolls by an additional $526,829,533
Increases in disposable personal income totaling $421,463,629
Growth in personal consumption by $390,106,735.

"Linking the public announcement of Chamberassisted projects with the resulting economic impact helps us provide the public accountability that has been a hallmark of our economic development strategy since the launch of Tell the World!" Hamilton said.  "Only the projects we assist directly will count toward achieving the goal. We will also continue to track the net total jobs in the region and other announced projects to offer our investors and the community at large the full economic picture."