By Maggie Behringer
Correspondent
DALTON, Ga. -- Though Forbes magazine ranked Dalton as the eighth-worst in the nation for job growth, city officials say work done over the past three years will turn that around.
"Coming out of this, you could see us go from eighth on the worst list to eighth on the best list almost overnight," said Dalton-Whitfield Chamber of Commerce President Brian Anderson.
In April, the financial magazine listed Dalton in its Top 10 worst list, which also included Morristown, Tenn., at No. 2; Detroit at No. 4, and Waterbury, Conn., at No. 10.
The city's unemployment rate in March was above 12 percent.
But members of the private and public sectors are "constantly taking the pulse (of Dalton)," said Elyse Cochran, senior vice president of the Dalton-Whitfield County Joint Development Authority. "We are not a small, sleepy town anymore."
A 2007 target-industry study had a goal of pinpointing industries best suited for Dalton and Whitfield County, officials said.
"It was a recognition by the community that it was time to get serious about building," said Chuck Dobbins, authority chairman. "The health of the long-term growth was going to be based on diversifying."
He noted that the carpet industry also pushed for diversity, even before the housing and real estate crisis knocked the legs out from under the industry. But the area's niche as the "Carpet Capital of the World" provided the essential backbone for branching out, he said.
The study identified plastics, chemicals and automotive and data centers as feasible industries linked to the existing economic base of floorcovering. Byproducts of carpeting manufacturing can be recycled and used to make automotive parts.
"There are so many connections because so much of the product is made in our community," Mrs. Cochran said.
Mr. Anderson said the major floorcovering manufacturers are investing in new technology and focusing on greater productivity with a goal of being ready when the housing market regains steam.
High-end retail and the design side of floorcovering also emerged in the study's findings. The city has reached out to the Savannah College of Art and Design and retail companies to explore growth in those markets.
Also, identified gaps in Dalton's potential development, specifically technology and educational attainment, have inspired improvement since the study's completion, officials said.
Dalton UnemploymentDecember: 12.5 percentJanuary: 13.1February: 12.7 percentMarch: 12.6 percentSource: Georgia Department of Labor
Graduation rates at Dalton and Whitfield County schools have risen steadily, officials noted.
Mr. Dobbins also said he expects Dalton to be certified as a Georgia Work Ready Community by the end of the year. The statewide initiative seeks to improve the training and marketability of Georgia's work force.
The Chamber also is working to remarket Dalton and Whitfield County, showing off its downtown revitalization, its history of successful cottage industries and its land open for development.
Mr. Anderson cited the soon-to-open Carbondale Business Park off Interstate 75 as an example of public and private partnerships resulting in "plug and play-ready" developments for businesses.
In its Grow Greater Dalton campaign, launched in July 2009, the Chamber set a goal of raising $4.5 million over four years and pledges already have reached $6 million, he said.
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