Job opportunities in county increased in 3rd quarter

By Cheryl Chumley

Published: November 19, 2008

Job opportunities in Prince William County in the third quarter, July through September, grew by an estimated 1,061 new openings, according to figures presented Tuesday to the Board of County Supervisors.

Of those, 593, or 56 percent, were for non-retail jobs, the background documents to the board stated.

The average salary, said Martin Briley, executive director of Economic Development—who presented the quarterly update to the supervisors—was $726 a week.

The positions came by way of new and expanded businesses. CustomInk, for example, "leased 22,800 square feet at Gateway Business Center for use as a printing facility," background documents read, and in so doing, brought 15 new positions to the county.

Other cited expansions and new positions:

• Prince William Association of Realtors began a $5.2 million construction project for its new headquarters that will employ seven additional staffers.

• Motion Industries, an industrial parts and equipment distributor, plans on investing $3.5 million in its new location at Gateway Business Center and employ six.

• Sedna Digital Solutions, a contractor that provides technical assistance to the U.S. Navy, will invest $2.5 million for its new 13,762-square-foot office in Manassas and give jobs to 28.

• And Serco, which serves the Department of Defense, expanded to 20,000 square feet of office space at the newly constructed Dumfries Town Center, and has plans to hire 35.

"We have 12 new small companies," Briley said, "and these small companies expand and grow."

The count from January through September for new jobs stands at 2,964, economic development figures show.

In 2007 during that same nine-month time frame, the figure was 2,738.

Meanwhile, forecasts for growth in the county remain solid.

"Prospect activity peaked at 57 [ inquiries] during the third quarter of 2008," the background documents indicated. "Nine new prospects were opened in the quarter … [and] there were 12 prospect visits during the third quarter of 2008."

Staff writer Cheryl Chumley can be reached at 703-670-1907.