Governor McDonnell Highlights Administration Job Creation Efforts To Date
71,500 Jobs Have Been Added in Virginia since February: Third Highest Amount in Nation.
110 Economic Development Projects Announced In Virginia since Inauguration Day; Projects Create 7,154 Jobs and $1 Billion in Capital Investment; New Budget Contains More Resources and Tools for Economic Development Efforts
A day prior to the 6-month mark of the McDonnell Administration, Governor Bob McDonnell, Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling, Secretary of Commerce and Trade Jim Cheng and Bob Sledd, the Governor’s Senior Economic Advisor, held a morning press briefing to discuss the aggressive work underway to bring new job-creating businesses to the Commonwealth, help existing businesses expand and grow Virginia’s economy.
The briefing, “Virginia at Work”, also included an update on the overall jobs picture in the state, and came just two days prior to the Governor’s first overseas trade mission.
McDonnell, along with the First Lady, Secretary Cheng, and Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Todd Haymore, will travel to Great Britain, Germany and the Netherlands to meet with business officials, encourage investment in Virginia, and promote tourism and Virginia products including wine, seafood, pork and peanuts. The mission follows a recent month-long economic development trip to Asia by Secretary Cheng in which he, along with other economic development officials, met with numerous business prospects with interests in Virginia.
Among the highlights noted during today’s “Virginia at Work” briefing:
- Statistics show that the Commonwealth has added 71,500 jobs since February. These jobs are in the private and public sectors and represent all employment: full-time, temporary, and part-time.
- This is the third-highest amount in the nation
- Third-highest percentage increase in the nation
- Virginia’s unemployment rate of 7.1% is the third lowest east of the Mississippi
- 13th lowest nationally
- 110 economic development deals have been closed in Virginia since Inauguration Day
- The 110 deals will produce 7,154 jobs and $1 billion in capital investment
- The McDonnell Administration has appointed Virginia’s first Chief Jobs Creation Officer and Virginia’s first Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Trade for Rural Economic Development
- The new biennial budget includes significant new resources and incentives to help the Commonwealth better compete for job-creating projects
- Funding secured for new Virginia trade offices in Great Britain, India, and China
- Virginia landed the corporate headquarters of Fortune 100 company Northrop Grumman on the 101st day of the McDonnell Administration
Additional information about economic development projects announced by the Administration, and the new incentives and policies put in place to help spur job-creation, are available below.
Speaking about today’s “Virginia at Work” briefing, the Governor noted, “The number one priority of our Administration is creating good-paying jobs for our citizens in the counties and cities where they live. A job provides dignity, self-worth, and opportunity. Every Virginian deserves that. In this tough economy there is no effort more important, no task timelier, than utilizing every resource available to bring new job-creating businesses to the Commonwealth, and to help existing businesses to expand. We will put in place policies that help entrepreneurs and job creators, and then we will get out of their way so they can create, grow and innovate.”
The Governor continued, “Just this morning we are announcing that Regitex USA will be opening a new manufacturing facility in Mecklenburg County, and 60 new jobs will come along with it. Yesterday we announced new jobs in Altavista, and the day before it was Hopewell. Every day that we can announce new jobs for Virginia workers is a victory for the Commonwealth, and another step towards creating the “Commonwealth of Opportunity” that I spoke about in my Inaugural Address. This is the driving motivation behind everything we do in this Administration. These are tough economic times, and Virginians are hurting. We are just getting started in our work to get Virginians back to work. I know that we can get this economy turned around and bring jobs and opportunity to every corner of the Commonwealth.”
Lieutenant Governor Bolling, who also serves as Virginia’s first Chief Jobs Creation Officer, remarked, “”Needless to say, we are very pleased with the progress that has been made in getting Virginia’s economy moving again and creating jobs for Virginia’s families. Over the last six months over 100 economic development deals have been closed in Virginia, and over 70,000 new jobs have been created, the third highest job creation rate in the nation. This shows that Virginia is on the right track and we are focused on making sound decisions on what needs to be done to position Virginia to take advantage of a future economic recovery. However, we know that we have a lot of work left to do, and we intend to continue working hard to do everything we can to lead our state into a period of greater economic prosperity.”
“Virginia at Work”
Major Jobs Announcements in First 6 Months of McDonnell Administration*
February 26th: Morgan Lumber Expansion in Charlotte County: 25 New Jobs
March 2nd: Kraft Foods Expansion in Frederick County: 100 New Jobs
March 18th: Mercury Paper Moves North American Headquarters to Shenandoah County: 150 New Jobs
March 30th: DirectTV and Convergys Virtual Call Center to Open in Southwest Virginia: 100 New Jobs
March 31st: Polymer Expands in Waynesboro: 41 New Jobs
April 13th: EcomNets Announces Computer Manufacturing Facility in Danville: 160 New Jobs
April 26th: Fortune 100 Company Northrop Grumman Selects Fairfax for Corporate Headquarters: 300 New Jobs
April 28th: Faneuil, Inc. Establish customer service center in Martinsville: 250 New Jobs
May 6th: Phoenix Packaging Selects Pulaski County for First United States Manufacturing Facility: 240 New Jobs
May 11th: Virginia Casting Industries Announces New Facility in Radford, Bringing Bankrupt Foundry back to Productive Capacity: 300 New Jobs
May 24th: MeadWestvaco Moves Center for Packaging Innovation from Raleigh to Richmond: 128 New Jobs
May 27th: Orion Air Group Consolidates Operations in Newport News: 51 New Jobs
June 15th: KPMG Announces Expansion in Fairfax County: 375 New Jobs
June 25th: Monogram Foods Grows Operation in Henry County: 150 New Jobs
June 29th: Evatran LLC, to open new Wytheville facility that will manufacture Plugless Power™ charging technology for electric vehicles: 84 New Jobs
July 13th: Praxair to Operate Gases Operation at Osage Bio Energy Facility in Hopewell: 17 New Jobs
July 14th: Intersections Inc. Announces Customer Care Center in Altavista: 250 New Jobs
TODAY: Regitex USA LLC Publicizes Opening of Manufacturing Operation in Mecklenburg County: 60 new jobs.
Topics: 2010, alcohol, bio tech startups, business, economic development, economic growth, economic recovery, Economy, employment, film, Governance, government, Governor Bob McDonnell, green jobs tax credit, investment, jobs, Jobs and Opportunity Agenda, Major Job Facility Tax Credit, moniter, monitor, motion picture, news, peanuts, pork, seafood, society, tax credits, technology, U.S., United States, Virginia at Work, wine
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