Number 17 on a top 25 list of fastest growing job markets in the nation is Prince William County, cited by CNN Money for a nine-year spurt that saw its employment opportunities jump by 32 percent.
“In Prince William, the crossroads of Civil War battlefields and two active military bases, residents have a better than fighting chance to land a high-paying job,” the web-based magazine reports. Its analysis measured communities’ growth between 2000 and 2009. “Skilled workers have stormed the area in recent years. Many cash in on federal defense contracts with firms like Lockheed Martin.”
The magazine also complimented the county for its “growing cluster of biotech companies,” and its recent addition of a $50 million research lab in Manassas.
Last year, Prince William was number 23 on the list. Since, local government officials have launched a concerted effort to streamline the permitting process for certain businesses to locate in the county – an effort that focuses on job creation in biotechnology.
“This announcement affirms our position as one of the leading job markets in the country,” said Corey Stewart, chairman of the Board of Supervisors. “Economic development has long been a priority of the [supervisors], and we will continue to work diligently to bring quality jobs to the county.”
Topping the list this year was Lincoln County, S.D., with a reported 67 percent job growth for the last nine years. In order, the next nine: Williamson County then Hays County, both in Texas, and then Douglas County, Colo. Spots five, six and seven belong to three more counties in Texas – Fort Bend, Webb County and Collin County. Number eight is Broomfield County, Colo.; number nine, Hamilton County, Ind.; and number 10, Cache County, Utah.
Only one other Virginian county made the list; Suffolk, at number 23.
Staff writer Cheryl Chumley can be reached at 703-530-3903.
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