Missouri’s professional services industry growing rapidly

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Within the past year, Missouri companies have added—or announced plans to add—nearly 19,000 new jobs and over $4.3 billion in capital investment in the state’s professional services industry. In each of these announcements, the state’s central location, talented workforce and friendly business climate were key factors in making Missouri an attractive place for these businesses.

Over the last year, Kansas City-based Burns & McDonnell—one of the nation’s top engineering design firm—announced plans to double its footprint and hire 1,200 new employees in the Kansas City area. In June 2014, the company broke ground on their new Kansas City office space, a $109.2 million project.

In July 2014, Cerner—a North Kansas City-based health IT company—announced that the company’s Three Trails Campus in south Kansas City will result in over 16,000 new employees being hired between 2017 and 2025, making it the biggest job-creating project in Missouri’s history.

In January 2015, Littler Mendelson—the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management—announced the relocation of its services center and corporate departments to Kansas City’s Crown Center district. The firm is expected to initially create up to 275 new jobs with the potential for significant growth over the next several years.

In February 2014, Sedgwick LLP—a San Francisco-based international law firm—announced plans to invest $4.6 million to consolidate its global administration operations into a new office in Kansas City’s Crown Center district, creating 100 jobs over the next five years. The Kansas City office includes the firm’s finance department, information technology, litigation support, human resources, and marketing and research.

In November 2014, Sungevity—a global solar energy provider—announced Kansas City as the new home to the company’s new sales and service center, creating 595 new jobs over the next several years.

In June 2014, Targeted Metrics—an information and services company—announced its selection of Kansas City as the home for its new headquarters and sales operations center, which will include a $5.8 million capital investment and the creation of up to 535 new jobs over the next two years.