FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 4, 2011

CONTACT: Nick Garcia
(916) 551-1383

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: HESPERIA STAR

Study: Enterprise zones create jobs for the unemployed, create a profit for the state

(Hesperia, CA)—The Hesperia Star today highlighted the importance of enterprise zones, citing their importance in spurring job creation and lowering unemployment.

Study: Enterprise zones create jobs for the unemployed, create a profit for the state

Gov. Brown would eliminate enterprise zones, including Hesperia’s, as a cost-cutting measure

If Gov. Jerry Brown goes ahead with his proposal to eliminate the state’s enterprise zone program, it could cost the state — and Hesperia, which now has an enterprise zone of its own — more than cutting the program would save.

That’s among the conclusions from a new study commissioned by San Bernardino Valley Enterprise Zone (a separate zone than Hesperia’s) and released on Thursday.

The study, conducted by Lee Hanson, a professor of management studies at Cal State San Bernardino, looked at eight small businesses in the SBVEZ.

“Given the fairly representative characteristics of the study firms – their small size and local ownership, their primarily local, regional or statewide market orientation, their mostly moderate growth, and their industry diversity – it is reasonable to posit that the results could be similar for many other zones around the state,” Hanson’s study reads in part.

…

“The value of the average Hiring Tax Credits generated by each firm in the study was $68,255, or around $6,000 per Qualified employee based on a three-year average of 12 Qualified employees in the sample firms,” according to Hanson’s study. “Taking account of factors like specific skills or experience needed for a position, Qualified individuals were likely to be considered for employment over persons who did not qualify for the Hiring Tax Credit.”

Hesperia’s enterprise zone businesses are unlikely to have a problem finding applicants that would qualify for the hiring tax credits: The city’s 18 percent unemployment rate is one of the highest in the region.

To read the rest of the story, please visit: http://www.hesperiastar.com/news/create-3933-state-brown.html