Bossier City named No. 7 for “Best Places to Find a New Job” by Money magazine.

The reach, vitality, and growth of the Bossier business community could easily be summed up in one, four-day span in mid-February. While that seems like a very random time, it was one where we at the Bossier Chamber celebrated four ribbon cuttings, reminding us of how business really is booming in Bossier. Ribbon cuttings are a great time of celebration for businesses as they are often done in conjunction with business expansions, relocations and anniversaries in addition to the traditional grand-opening, ribbon-cutting events. Not only is this a time for the business to celebrate but for everyone to celebrate a thriving and active business community.

Three of these ribbon cuttings were relocations for businesses in need of larger facilities as their businesses continued to grow, while the fourth ribbon cutting was an expansion as that business opened its fourth location in Bossier-Shreveport.

Additionally, in the weeks prior to these ribbon cuttings, we had business anniversaries of 25 and 31 years. This longevity is a testament to a thriving community with businesses that are continuing to invest here.

Remember it was just a few years ago that Forbes ranked the Bossier-Shreveport metro area No. 7 among mid-size metros in the “Best Cities for Jobs” list.

And the accolades have continued as 2014 rolled out these business friendly rankings:

Bossier City named No. 7 for “Best Places to Find a New Job” by Money magazine.
Shreveport-Bossier ranked among the “Best Opportunity Cities” by Forbes magazine.
Shreveport-Bossier named a “Game Changing Community” because of its economic potential by Southern Business & Development (SB&D), an economic development journal.
Shreveport ranked No. 18 of the “Best Cities to Start a Business” list by Wallet-Hub.com.

So, while some industries are seeing a downturn as we start 2016, there are many that are looking for a skilled workforce.

“There are a lot of jobs here and a lot of companies are expanding,” said Jeff Bomar, operations manager of Jean Simpson Personnel Services, “but it is competitive” as there are also a good amount of job seekers.

But as spring approaches, many companies will begin to increase their workforce, Bomar said, and many individual companies are hosting job fairs. Likewise, the Bossier Chamber of Commerce is hosting our semi-annual Veterans’ Job & Resource Fair on April 10 from 12 to 4 p.m. at the Bossier Civic Center. This fair is open to active-duty, reserve and retired/separated military members as well as their spouses and dependents.

Source: Biz Magazine