The retired Landmark Bank chairman who has studied economic trends in Columbia/Boone County for more than 35 years is seeing some changes in top employers.
For years, the three pillars of Columbia’s economy have been education, health care and insurance. Former Landmark Bank chairman Jeff MacLellan says insurance is not what it used to be:
“And primarily because you’ve lost one of the big players, which is State Farm. You know they used to have well over 1,000 employees in this town with a regional office. And that’s no longer here,” he says.
Mr. MacLellan does note that Shelter Insurance still has its large headquarters here, describing them as a good community partner. The latest statistics from Columbia Regional Economic Development Incorporated (REDI) show that Shelter has at least 1,100 employees in Columbia/Boone County.
While Columbia has lost State Farm Insurance’s regional office, newer companies like Veterans United (VU) and EquipmentShare have added numerous jobs. Mr. MacLellan says VU has a few thousand employees in town. He also notes Columbia has numerous banks:
“You know that has almost 3,000 employees. And a bunch of other small mortgage companies, not to mention all the banks,” MacLellan says.
He also says we’re seeing more wealth management companies in Columbia that employ a lot of people. Mr. MacLellan will join host Fred Parry in-studio Saturday morning from 7-8 on 939 the Eagle’s “CEO Roundtable.” He and Fred will also discuss crime in Columbia, Central Bank going public, job growth in Columbia and numerous other topics.