A major asset of the Canton/Stark County area is its labor force committed to high quality and productivity. Stark County has been a successful location for business since the mid-nineteenth century. The area has produced generations of well-educated and diverse workers, which reflect the broad base of the area's economic mix.

Another major asset of the Stark County area is The Employment Source. The Employment Source provides excellent services for both employers and job seekers. Its Business Services Department was created to provide a single point of contact for employers to find qualified job candidates. The services provided are at no cost to the employer. Job seekers also have an array of services available to them at no cost, including workshops and a job matching system.

Ohio's six million workers exceed the populations of 31 other states. With 180,000 graduating high school seniors and more than 78,000 college graduates ready to join the workforce every year, Ohio is a juggernaut of worker productivity.

Ranked seventh in both state gross state product and population in the country, Ohio is clearly maximizing its worker productivity to the benefit of the state's economy and business community. Ohio's recent productivity gains mean that you can maintain or even increase your output with fewer workers.

From 1990-2004, Ohio's gross state product rose a total of 35 percent. Ohio's GDP for 2005 was approximately $392.9 billion, an increase of 5.6 percent from 2000. The Strickland Administration has laid out a plan for talent development in Ohio, including the consolidation and alignment of the State's training and talent development funds, rapid response services, worker credentialing and business services. Through these initiatives, productivity is expected to increase even further.

Browse Ohio's job market at OhioMeansJobs.com

The U.S. Department of Labor has designated labor surplus areas for the period October 1, 2009 through September 30, 2010. Employers located in labor surplus areas may be given preference in bidding on federal procurement contracts under Executive Orders 12073 (Federal Procurement in Labor Surplus Areas) and 10582 (Implementing the Buy American Act). Although Stark County is not considered in the labor surplus area, both Canton and Massillon do qualify for these incentives.