St Joseph was listed among the top 30 best performing small cities for 2012.
That’s the word from the Milken Institute, which placed St Joe 29th.
We ranked 51st the year before. St Joe was ninth on the list of cities ranked by five-year employment growth.
The Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities Index ranks U.S. metropolitan areas by how well they are creating and sustaining jobs and economic growth.
The components include job, wage and salary, and technology growth. In most years, these give a good indication of the underlying structural performance of regional economics.
“In 2012, we saw expansions in many of our local companies so 2012 was a very strong year for us,” said Steve Hamilton, Interim President and CEO of the St. Joseph Metro Chamber.
“We’re pleased to see that the Milken Institute recognizes these accomplishments on the economic development front.”
The St. Joseph Metro Chamber Economic Development staff worked on about 40 attraction and expansion projects in 2012, all with the purpose of adding quality jobs and capital investment to the St. Joseph business community.
Some of these projects are still underway, but several were announced throughout the year. Some of those include expansions at: St. Joseph Plastics, Al J. Mueller Construction, I&M Machine & Fabrication Corp., Triumph Foods, LLC, Ag Processing, Inc., DuPont Nutrition and Health and Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc.
According to the Milken index, St. Joseph ranks ninth on a list of 179 cities for its five-year growth rate in employment.
“Because of St. Joseph’s diversified employment base, we didn’t suffer any major corporate closings during the recession,” Mr. Hamilton said. “St. Joseph’s unemployment rate remained far below state and national averages during the recession and remain that way today. Much of St. Joseph’s success can be attributed to the collaboration between public and private contributors.”
St. Joseph is one of only two towns in the state of Missouri to make the top 30. Columbia, Mo came in at the number 10 spot.