June 16, 2006

Ethanol Boom Means Jobs and Increased Income for Nebraska

Press Release

Nebraska’s rapidly growing ethanol industry has economic implications that reach far beyond higher corn prices, according to Tim Else,” Chairman of the Nebraska Ethanol Board. “Ethanol plants are bringing jobs to areas that have traditionally had difficulty attracting business and industry. Rural communities are benefiting from more jobs, more income, and broader economic activity when plants come to their town.”

The Ethanol Board estimates that by 2007, more than two thousand Nebraskans will work at one of the state’s twenty-one ethanol plants. “Good jobs are created in building and operating plants. Increased economic activity results and good jobs spring up in other industries. More young people find jobs in their home communities,” Else said.

Along with the thousands of construction and permanent jobs at the plants, NEB spokesperson, Steve Sorum, estimates three thousand new jobs will be seeking Nebraska workers as the economic activity ripples through the state. In addition to corn purchases, the average ethanol plant spends twenty-one million dollars annually on a wide range of inputs such as industrial chemicals, electricity, natural gas, insurance, maintenance, and general overhead. These costs represent increased revenue for other industries and stimulate aggregate demand for goods and services across the state.