More than 300 manufacturing jobs were added in Douglas County during 2003, according to a new report, putting the area on pace for the addition of 2,000 such jobs by the end of 2006.

Lawrence Chamber of Commerce officials reported Wednesday that manufacturers and other industrial and technology companies added 313 jobs in 2003, up from 239 in 2002.

“We’re taking this as a sign that there is a lot more confidence in the economy now,” said Lynn Parman, the chamber’s vice president for economic development. “It seems like manufacturing is starting to come back. That is a very positive sign because manufacturing usually is one of the last areas to recover from a recession.”

Chamber officials compiled the data through interviews with officials of area companies that provide “basic jobs,” or those that involve producing goods sold outside Douglas County. Chamber officials track such jobs because they are a good indicator of new dollars being brought into the community, Parman said.

The numbers were compiled as part of a report the chamber is presenting this morning on its Excellence By Design fund-raising campaign. The campaign, which concluded in April, raised $1.2 million from 124 private donors to support the chamber’s economic development activities.

As part of the campaign, chamber officials set a goal of creating 2,000 jobs from 2003 through 2006. To meet the goal, the county needed to add 500 jobs a year.

Though job growth didn’t hit that mark in 2003, the program’s first year, Parman said she was optimistic the program was on track to meet its goal.

“It was kind of a ramp-up year for us in 2003,” she said. “We did a lot with increasing our marketing materials and getting our systems in place. I think 2004 is when we’ll see even bigger results.”

Parman said she was encouraged about this year’s prospects because there already have been expansion announcements by two Lawrence companies.

Ken Patterson, Lawrence, edits a roll of red foil for defects at API Foils in Lawrence. While he was working at the plant in July, the company announced it was transferring 18 employees from its Kansas City plant to Lawrence. The 18 jobs were among the 313 jobs added by manufacturers in 2003, the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce reported Wednesday.

Astaris LLC announced a $5 million plant expansion that would add 10 jobs, and HiPer Technology announced plans to move its manufacturing plant to Lawrence later this year. The move from Michigan is expected to create about 40 jobs during the next three years.

“Two major announcements in the first quarter is a good sign because usually January is not our busiest time of the year,” Parman said.

Employment professionals agreed the area job market is beginning to pick up.

“We’ve definitely seen an upturn in employment since the first of the year,” said Jerry Magnuson of Express Personnel Services. “We’ve seen it both in the manufacturing and the office/service type of jobs.”

Magnuson said he was expecting 2004 to produce more job growth, though not at a spectacular pace.

“I think it still will be gradual, but consumer confidence is up and the stock market is up and those are usually positive signs for job growth,” he said.

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A more comprehensive look at the Douglas County job picture is scheduled to be released Friday, when the Kansas Department of Human Resources unveils unemployment totals for 2003. That report will look at job totals for all sectors of the economy.

That report also takes into account job losses that occurred in the county. The chamber doesn’t report on the net gain or loss of basic jobs. Three major manufacturers — Lawrence Paper Co., Honeywell International and E&E Display Group — reported a total job loss of 280 employees in 2003.

In addition to new jobs, the chamber also tracked the amount of new investments made by industrial and manufacturing firms in the county. That total was $41.2 million down slightly from $42.8 million in 2002. Chamber officials had set a goal of at least $40 million in new investment each year as part of its Excellence By Design campaign.