Shortage of private employment brings The New York Times to Perry County, Tennessee

When I pick up my daily copy of The New York Times on the way to work this week, I will be watching for an article to be published on the hardship of high unemployment in Perry County, Tennessee. The New York Times will be reporting on how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA or stimulus program) funds are putting people to work in federally financed jobs to replace real private sector jobs lost as companies could not survive there. More remote, with no Interstate, 4-lane highway or rail, and with less access to a highly skilled workforce, Perry County faces struggles to provide a competitive environment for business that make Hickman County appreciate the wealth of resources that we have.

Hickman County is served by I-40 and 840 and is less than an hour from I-65. Located in the Nashville, Tennessee MSA, Hickman County has a rural work ethic and business-friendly environment with a close proximity to the cultural, educational, and business services resources of a large metropolitan city. Hickman County employs economic development experts to work with new and existing private sector business to assist in their location, growth, and sustainability.