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Contact: Alan Fogg, afogg@fceda.org,
703-790-0600 (o) or 571-213-5065 (m)
U.S. Labor Department spotlights Fairfax County as private sector hub of Washington, D.C. area
Scholarly article notes leadership in technical and professional services
Fairfax County, Virginia USA, January 29, 2007 – A
new scholarly publication of the U.S. Department of Labor’s
Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that “Fairfax County has
emerged as the [Washington] metropolitan area’s private-sector
job leader, joining the [District of Columbia], with its concentration
of public-sector employment, as a second major hub for regional
economic activity.”
“Industry dynamics in the Washington, DC area: has a
second job core emerged?” is in the December 2006 issue
of Monthly Labor Review, and analyzes employment data between
1990 and 2005. The article finds that Fairfax County is a leader
especially in professional and business services employment. “The
professional and business services industry… grew rapidly
during this time span, and Fairfax County added these jobs
at an astonishing pace for one of the largest counties in the
metropolitan area – 123 percent – establishing
itself as a major job center alongside the District of Columbia.”
The article concludes: “A strong case could be made that...Fairfax has created another core area of employment apart from the traditional central business district of the District of Columbia, but it has not replaced it…These two jurisdictions are not independent of each other, but rather supportive of one another, providing alternative environments to foster and enhance business development throughout the metropolitan area.”
The article can be found on the Bureau of Labor Statistics Web site at http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2006/12/art1full.pdf.
“The article validates that Fairfax County is the economic engine of the Washington area and Virginia,” said Gerald L. Gordon, Ph.D., president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA). "It also notes that the economy that has been created, and the high-quality, high-paying professional jobs it supports, boosts the quality of life in the county.”
Business growth helps Fairfax County, just outside Washington, D.C., fund public services such as a top-ranked public school system and library, public safety, social services and park systems that improve the quality of life. Fairfax County offers diverse real estate opportunities, access to domestic and international markets through Washington Dulles International Airport, a business community based on technology and professional services, and a well-educated workforce.
The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority ( www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org) promotes Fairfax County as a business and technology center. The FCEDA maintains offices worldwide in Silicon Valley, Bangalore, Frankfurt, London, Seoul and Tel Aviv.
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