2017: a good year for Zanesville and Muskingum County businesses

ZANESVILLE, Ohio-  Businesses in the Zanesville and Muskingum County area have had a successful past year.

The Zanesville-Muskingum County Port Authority has been working with local business for years now and 2017 has been one of the most successful. Executive Director of the Port Authority Matt Abbott said the area is seeing close to record low unemployment rates. He said a year ago the unemployment rate was around 6.0 percent and now it’s down to 4.7 percent.

“The goods and services produced here in the county, we’ve seen an uptick of 4.8 percent and the value of those goods and services produced, so that’s another positive sign. All of our distribution centers, which we have multiple continuing to actively hire. They’ve increased their starting wages and done a lot of increases throughout,” said Abbott.

Abbott said with this year going so well, it sets up the area for success for 2018. He said it’s important for the area to continue on the good foundation the area has.

“We have a pretty solid foundation. We have a footprint of nine fortune 500 companies in Muskingum County. Which is very positive for our outlook. So it’s a destination and a good place to do business. It’s a proven location. You’ve seen recent announcements with Kenworth and Peterbilt in the trucking industries,” said Abbott.

Abbott said the Port Authority is currently working with four local companies who are looking to expand, which will create more jobs. He said things are looking positive for the future.