There is no doubt that our county & many of our surrounding counties have benefited from the uprising of the Fayetteville Shale exploration. No, I don’t mean by the many earthquakes we have been experiencing lately, but through our economy! Having such wanted natural gas so close to our city, we haven’t been affected by the recession as much as the rest of the country has.
People & their families have flocked to Conway & it’s surrounding areas from all over the country to seek job opportunities in the oil & gas field. Most of the jobs are very well paid, especially for people without a degree. The more people that move here, the more houses that need to be built to either be rented out, or bought. Which then leads to builders making great money, because they are constantly staying busy. Which also means more sales for the local restaurants, grocery stores, clothing stores etc. etc. This list could go on & on. All because of the Fayetteville Shale.
{photo courtesy of oilshalegas.com}
According to Courtney Spradling from thecabin.net, “Recently released U.S. Census Bureau data placed Faulkner County at number two, behind Benton county, in populations growth between the years 2000 and 2010. Residents claiming Faulkner County increased by just over 31 percent, according to 2010 figures, with a population of 113, 237 out of Arkansas’ 2.9 million” (thecabin.net para. 1 & 2).
An author from pulseofconway.com, Roger Lewis said it very well, “The gas exploration industry has an annual impact exceeding $115 million on Faulkner County’s economy in terms of employment, taxes, payments, to vendors, and royalties. It has been a buffer that has helped keep Faulkner County from sliding into the national recession” (pulseofconway.com para. 1). Yes, many of us have had to deal with cut backs, & have had to pay much closer attention to where we spend our money, but not like so many all over the country & we can definitely thank the oil & gas companies for keeping our county a float.
To give you just a little bit of an idea of how much money the Fayetteville Shale is bringing into Faulkner County, according to the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, “there are 35 firms in the Natural Resources business in Faulkner County, employing an average of 770 employees with a weekly wage average of $1678. It is the highest weekly wage of any business segment in the county. This amounts to a weekly payroll of $1.3 million and an annual payroll of approximately $70 million (pulseofconway.com para. 3). THAT’S A LOT OF STINKIN’ MONEY!!
I know many people that work in this field & I know they are so very thankful to have the jobs that they do, making what they do. 10 years ago, their jobs didn’t even exist! & who knows if they will still be available 10 years from now! But for the here & now, it has made a huge impact on our city & I couldn’t be any more proud of where I live! I am thankful for the growth that it has brought to our city, along with many new shopping centers & restaurants!
Dear Kati,
ReplyDeleteThe Fayetteville shale exploration is a significant issued in Arkansas today. This issue could play a key role in the increased expansion of Conway Arkansas. Like you said in your blog Conway is growing and more and more businesses and houses are being built. The shale exploration is definitely helping the economy in Conway. It is also creating more jobs which would lower the unemployment rate. Another thing you mentioned was that Conway was not hit as hard as some places by the recession. The shale exploration strengthens the economy and helps the town be able to cope better with bad situations. It could also make the people that live there happier because they do not have to deal with has many hardships. Thank you for writing Kati. The shale exploration has many positive effects on Arkansas. Those positive effects greatly outweigh the increasing number of earthquakes in Arkansas.
Junco