2007 Business Retention and Expansion E-Survey

A recent study of 42 businesses in Osage County provided insight on what the business climate looks like from an industry perspective. The survey revealed that Osage County has a positive employment trend. In fact, over the past two years, despite the nation’s economic challenges, these businesses have created 15 net new jobs. Taken as a whole, this trend is expected to continue as 15 of these businesses anticipate creating 47 new jobs over the next two years. Perhaps this growth could be attributed to the attitude of the current workforce. When asked to rate the attitude of their employees, 93 percent of survey respondents viewed the attitude of their workforce as being excellent or good. Not surprisingly, it may be because these companies don’t indicate having major problems with recruiting or retaining employees.

When looking to identify barriers to growth in Osage County, some businesses point out a few key concerns. Many businesses indicated they have had to forgo an expansion in the last five years due to lack of financing. When asked to comment on significant negative impact of local regulations, businesses weighed in as documented in the Financing and Regulations sections of the BREE report.

The following are links to learn more about living in Osage County.

Crimestoppers
Leadership Osage County
Libraries
Osage County I.C.C.
Schools
Pride Organizations