Job Creation In Pr. William Slows but Doesn't Stop

Comcast, Other Firms Expanding or Moving In

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors got a glimpse last week of the economic development activity in the county.

The good news: There is some.

"What's important is that we are growing," Prince William Economic Development Director Martin J. Briley said during the meeting Sept. 22. "Many places across the country aren't growing at all."

This year through June, 1,067 new jobs were reported in retail and non-retail industries in Prince William, according to a report from the economic development office. An additional 43 were reported in "targeted industries," which include the biotechnology and information technology fields. The figures do not track jobs that have disappeared.

During that time, 138 businesses expanded or moved into Prince William, including five in targeted areas. Some of the bigger investments in the second quarter of this year were made by technical services company Jacobs Technology, Comcast and MicroAutomation, a call center firm that is completing the first phase of a nationwide 911 project for Jordan.

Jacobs's expansion brought 20 new jobs and $330,000 in investment, Comcast's relocation of two regionally based support operations brought 55 new jobs and $500,000 in investment, and MicroAutomation added eight employees and invested $80,000 in the county to complete its project.

Prince William's growth has slowed from last year. During the first half of 2008, the county recorded 2,058 new jobs, with 176 of those in targeted industries.

"We're still doing well for what the market is delivering," said Jason Grant, spokesman for the county's economic development office. "There is just not as much market activity happening here or across the board right now in Northern Virginia or the nation."

Grant said the collapse of the housing industry resulted in fewer new construction jobs in the county. And, he said, although Prince William has several plots of land that could house new office space, it lacks available buildings, which look more economically appealing during a recession.

Grant said the county's Economic Development Department continues to recruit targeted businesses, particularly in life sciences.

Business officials from Prince William and Manassas also got a chance to share thoughts and concerns about the economic development climate in the region with Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R) this week when he stopped at Bowman Consulting Group in Manassas for his "Jobs for Virginians" tour.

Bolling, who is running for reelection, started the tour across the commonwealth to get feedback from business leaders on what can be done to get the economy moving.

During the Monday meeting in Manassas, attendees, who included government officials, entrepreneurs and the leaders of both local chambers of commerce, said businesses would benefit from more workforce training and less stringent regulation.

Fixing Northern Virginia's transportation issues and positioning Prince William as a bioscience leader in Virginia would also help change the economic climate in the county, attendants said.

"The lieutenant governor understands that transportation issues are business issues," Board of County Supervisors Chairman Corey A. Stewart (R-At Large) said Monday. "The ingredients to grow the next hub of bioscience and life science industries already exists in western Prince William, but as long as the county still has to shoulder the burden of transportation investment, our ability to take advantage of our own resources is significantly diminished."