The Sunday Shale Show: Guest Ed Looman, Executive Director for Progress Alliance
For the Sunday Shale Show Energy In Depth- Ohio sat down with Ed Looman, Executive Director of Progress Alliance in Jefferson County.
It has been almost a year since ABC News focused on Jefferson County benefiting from the new development of the Utica Shale in Ohio. Since that time, much has changed, and Progress Alliance has been on the front lines of attracting new businesses associated with shale development to this once-bustling steel town.
Mr. Looman shared his thoughts on how positive expanding shale development has been for the area, and how it has helped attract over a dozen new businesses over the past year.
From the end of January to the end of October we have a thousand more people from Jefferson County working and the bulk of those jobs have been created by the shale industry.- Ed Looman, Executive Director of Progress Alliance
Not only has Jefferson County residents seen an increase in jobs but Mr. Looman also noted that Jefferson County has also had an increase in sales tax revenue by 14% since January. That is a much needed economic growth for a county in a convalescing economy.
Things are looking up for Jefferson County, a community that endured a 15% unemployment rate just two years ago. As shale development continues to increase, the region will continue to gain new businesses and increase revenue thanks to people like Ed Looman and organizations like Progress Alliance.
Energy in Depth – Ohio thanks Mr. Looman for his efforts, and for joining us on The Sunday Shale Show. We look forward to continuing to work with those working directly or indirectly with the oil and gas industry to provide in-depth analysis of what’s taking place in Ohio (and beyond), and what it means for our communities and our state.
Stay tuned for The Sunday Shale Show next week!
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