Oil & Gas Contributes to Hotel Boom

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Hotels are popping up everywhere, a sign that the Stark County economy is hopping. According to a report in the Canton Repository, there are five hotels in the planning or construction phases in Stark County. Four are in the Belden Village area, and another is in Hartville.

Smaller communities are also looking to welcome new hotels, and much of the growth is due to the demand from the oil and gas industry.

It's an exciting development for our region.

Click here to read more about the countywide building boom.

Gas Boom Still in the Future

As close as we are in the Partnership to what is going on in the oil and gas industry, we see many people who grow impatient with what they think is the slow pace of progress, particularly with the development of the Utica Shale.

However, experts throughout the industry continue to point to strong signs that the growth we've all anticipated and expected is still ahead. Now that has been confirmed by a study released by Cleveland State University.

Iryna Lendel, assistant director for economic development at the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, spoke at a shale conference in Akron on Sept. 24.

Click here for coverage in the Akron Beacon Journal.

4,000 New Oil & Gas Jobs This Year

A report on the Motley Fool website indicates that "oil and gas companies operating in the Marcellus and Utica Shale plan to hire at least 4,000 new employees this year."

Four thousand! That's the kind of news we can all get excited about, and here at the Partnership we intend to work to bring our share of oil and gas jobs right here to Stark County.

The article goes on to indicate that last year 96 percent of new oil and gas jobs in the Marcellus and Utica were filled by local candidates.

Click here to read the article at The Motley Fool website.