Grant County EDC in Moses Lake, Washington is an excellent example of a rural county that has excelled in recruiting a diverse mix of innovative high-tech and manufacturing firms.

Grant County EDC has met this challenge head-on with an approach that combines ambitious goals, commitment to infrastructure improvements, and detailed understanding of the region’s economy. That’s why the county is now the choice location for 19 ongoing projects, from innovative manufacturing firms to high-tech data centers for Yahoo, Ask.com, Intuit,and Microsoft. The county has dropped its unemployment rate from a 10.1% high in 2001 to a 6.6% low in 2006. And between 2006 and 2007 alone, the EDC recruited approximately 1,000 new jobs. These new jobs will be added over a five year period and will have an estimated ripple effect of 1,050 additional indirect jobs.

Click here to read the full story (PDF): “It’s All About Jobs” in Grant County