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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Alan Fogg,
Director of Communications
afogg@fceda.org, 703-790-0600
Fairfax County IT and services companies create 11,500 jobs in 2001, FCEDA says
County drives D.C. economy; Gannett HQ brings in 1,700 new jobs in Q4
Fairfax County, Virginia, January 22, 2002 — About 11,500 jobs were or will be added to the Fairfax County economy by 164 companies that worked with the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority in 2001, according to the FCEDA. Most of these new jobs are in high-tech fields such as information technology and Internet services, communications and telecommunications, software, aerospace and biotechnology, and in business services.
Typically, every new job in the primary economy spins off about two to three jobs in the secondary economy. Fairfax County, one of the nation’s largest business and technology centers and the center of the Washington, D.C.-area economy, added about 22,000 jobs during 2001 for a total of about 558,000, according to Dr. Stephen Fuller of George Mason University. The Washington area has the strongest regional economy in the U.S. while technology centers such as San Jose and Atlanta have lost jobs, reports the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov).
Business growth in Fairfax County has helped fund one of the nation’s top-rated public school systems and excellent public services. Technology-sector jobs also typically pay higher-than-average salaries, which is why Fairfax County had the nation's highest median household income in 2001, according to the Claritas market research firm.
Paced by the opening of Gannett Co. Inc. headquarters, 23 companies announced in the last three months of 2001 that they would expand in or relocate operations to Fairfax County. The companies will bring 2,555 jobs to the county, the FCEDA said.
Gannett, a diversified news and information company, operates 97 daily newspapers, including USA TODAY, the nation's largest-selling daily paper. The company also owns non-daily publications, 100 Internet sites, 22 television stations in the United States and one of largest regional newspaper publishers in England. Gannett is the sixth Fortune 500 company to have its headquarters in Fairfax County.
"Fairfax is a good fit with Gannett," said Douglas H. McCorkindale, chairman, president and CEO of Gannett. "The county has a worldwide reputation as a good place to do the business of the 21st century."
"Gannett is a tremendous addition to the Fairfax County business community. It contributes to our economic stability by creating strengths in another business sector,"said Gerald L. Gordon, president and CEO of the FCEDA. "To have a blue-ribbon company such as Gannett here is another sign of Fairfax County's development as a world-class business center."
Fairfax County offers a state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure, access to domestic and international markets through Washington Dulles International Airport, a well-educated workforce and an excellent quality of life.
The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org) assists businesses by identifying possible sites and facilities, and is a source for up-to-date demographic and economic statistics. The FCEDA also has marketing representatives in London, Frankfurt and Tokyo.
Relocations and expansions during the fourth quarter were:
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