The economic news on the job front continues to improve with each passing day and the hard work of so many for so long is finally paying off.

We are blessed here in Butler County to have leaders who realized long ago that jobless rates of over 10 percent were not not acceptable and that life had to improve. When they realized that, they started to work together.

It was no longer a "Us v. Them" situation, but one where everyone had to work together to save this county.

Industrial parks were created and promoted. Existing industries and businesses were given help on expansion and strengthening what they had in place.

Local leaders from the county's three municipalities joined state leaders to create training programs and to show a united front to potential industrialists.

Now those efforts are translating into jobs and a jobless rate of 8 percent is something to be very proud of considering the peaks we've seen in recent years.

Until recently, it was hard to live here and not know a person who was unemployed or a family struggling to make ends meet.

Now, to find an unemployed person is getting harder and as one public official said recently, if a person wants a job, there is one available in Butler County.

The efforts of our business leaders, our elected officials in Greenville, Georgiana and McKenzie, in the County Commission, in the Butler County Commission for Economic Development are paying off.

So what's next for Butler County?

More of the same, we think. We encourage those who have worked so hard to stay the course and let the success of our county be your lasting legacy. We are proving to be one of this great state's success stories, and there is no rest until we hit rock bottom on our jobless rate!