Editing Magnolia, Arkansas (section)

==Economy==
Magnolia when it was founded was a cotton, farm production, and marketing town. Slowly the town grew, and in 1909 the Third District Agricultural School, subsequently known as Magnolia A&M and Southern State College, now known as [[Southern Arkansas University]], was founded. During World War II Magnolia became a heavy manufacturing city. In 1938 [[Petroleum|oil]] and [[natural gas]] were discovered near the city in what was called the Magnolia Oil Field, the largest producing field by volume in the nation during the war. The city soon became a producer in steel, lumber, aluminum, [[bromine]], rubber-coated products and [[fuel cell]]s for the military.

The town's primary economic focus is heavy industrial, including [[Albemarle Corporation]]'s Bromine Products Division (which has two facilities near town), Amfuel (which produces fuel cells for the military), and [[Sapa Group]]'s extruded aluminum products facility. Also located in the area are several oil and brine drilling companies, many of which are locally owned, and timber companies, such as Deltic and [[Weyerhaeuser]].

Major industrial employers: SAPA (750), Albemarle (739), Amfuel (380), CMC (344), Weyerhaeuser (250), Deltic Timber (125), Partee Flooring (95), and Southern Aluminum (90).

Largest non-manufacturing employers: 
*Magnolia Public School System, 346
*Southern Arkansas University, 304
*Magnolia Hospital, 253
*Columbia County government, 110

The unemployment rate in Magnolia is 9.40%,{{when|date=June 2014}} with job growth of -0.40%. Future job growth over the next ten years is predicted to be 29.70%, according to Sterling's,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bestplaces.net/city/Magnolia-Arkansas.aspx|title=Page Not Found|website=www.bestplaces.net}}</ref> The U.S. unemployment rate average for the month of June is 9.2%, Arkansas' average is 7.2%.