LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — City leaders in Little Rock have been actively working to recruit more people to move to the Natural State. They hope a growing economy and job opportunities will attract former Arkansans— and potentially new ones.
“From a job standpoint, we've already brought close to 10,000 new jobs,” said Mayor Frank Scott Jr.
The Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce has partnered with about 40 businesses looking for employees for the “Little Rock Love Connection" campaign.
“To matchmake between a company looking for a talented professional, and an individual that might be looking for a new opportunity, looking to come home,” said Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, Jay Chesshir.
He hopes that a cash incentive will sweeten the deal.
“Our partner companies are offering a $5,000 signing bonus to talented people who choose to come to work for them,” said Chesshir. “Then one year later, if that person is still working with that organization, we will pay them out of the incentive fund an additional $5,000 bonus to retain them.”
He also said this is key, especially during a time when recruitment hasn't been easy for a lot of businesses.
“When you look at our Little Rock region when you look at the MSA, and you look at the unemployment rate of 3%, it's really, really tight when it comes to trying to find new talent,” Chesshir added.
The chamber also relies on help from current Arkansans to make the capital city successful.
“The most unique piece of it is also that we're going to use our local Arkansans as matchmakers so that they can share this information far and wide,” he said.
The jobs range from health care to engineering and much more, and the first 50 people that help create a match will be given $501.