WASHINGTON — Can India help restore employment in the region? Two local governors are trying to find out.
Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell is in India right now and Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley is headed there right after Thanksgiving in an effort to lure jobs back to the area.
Speaking by phone from Mumbai, McDonnell says it could take a while before we will see the impact of his trip on jobs in his state.
“The seeds that I plant today, or this week, may pay dividends in a year, or two years, or three years, because these companies are making long term decisions on where they are going to locate,” says McDonnell. “One of the things we are trying to convince people is why would you want to manufacture or assemble things here when you can be close to a big customer base in Virginia”.
McDonnell says Indian companies may find it less expensive in the long run to move some operations, and jobs, to his state.
The governor has been promoting Virginia’s agriculture, tourism and movie industry on the trip hoping to stimulate those industries that are already operating in the state.
He did the same thing earlier this week in Israel.
Noting O’Malley’s trip later this month, McDonnell says India has such a large market that both states should have success in marketing their products.
The trip comes just after a report showed the number of underemployed people — people forced to take lower paying jobs below their skill level, or work part time — in Virginia is at a 15-year high.
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