Most businesspeople here would welcome a new insurance operation that employed 1,000 people, a communications company that hired 500, or an accounting and back-office operation that provided 450 jobs.


Such active prospects are looking at the Spokane area as a potential location for such new business operations, though they havent decided whether they will come here, the Spokane Area Economic Development Council said in the Oct. 29 edition of its Insider newsletter.


The slowing national economy, the stock markets indifference to mediocre corporate earnings, and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks seem to suggest that the EDCs efforts to recruit new employers could be seriously jeopardized, EDC President and CEO Mark Turner said in the article. Yet, he declared, I am very pleased to report that interest in the Spokane region by firms actively seeking new locations is very strong at this time.


Other prospects include an entertainment company that would employ 300, a customer-service center that would hire 250, and a boat manufacturer that would provide 200 jobs, the newsletter said.


In a phone interview after the newsletter came out, Turner said that the six prospects the newsletter mentioned are still on the table. Weve heard that the decisions thus far have gone well for us.


Theres no certainty that any of the half-dozen prospects mentioned in the newsletter or any other employer that the EDC is courting will come to Spokane, and the agency isnt releasing any names.


Yet, the newsletter article was a much stronger report than the EDC generally gives about its recruiting efforts, and Turner said in the interview, It does occur to us that it doesnt hurt sometimes to share some of the good things that are happening. We would have projected, given the state of the national economy, some fairly significant declines in interest. Were surprised thats not the case.


The EDC said earlier that it hoped to make a few significant announcements in the next 30 days, which will result in hundreds of new quality jobs for the area.


It said then that the types of businesses we are working with include technical customer-service centers, food and candy suppliers/manufacturers, a research-and-development firm, a software-development firm, and a biotech instrumentation company.