From agriculture and mining to finance, health care and entertainment, thousands upon thousands of different jobs should appear because of the military?s realignment of Aberdeen Proving Grounds and Fort Meade, according to a draft report.
The average salary of those jobs will be $65,000, the draft report, which was done by Towson University?s RESI Research and Consulting, stated.
The report identified three job categories ? direct, indirect and induced.
Last year, the federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended changes to Aberdeen Proving Grounds and Fort Meade that will result in thousands of jobs coming to Harford and Anne Arundel counties as well as possibly Baltimore City and other nearby counties over the next six years.
Direct jobs are those jobs created by companies with a military contract. Indirect jobs are jobs created by other companies such as office cleaning and lawn care companies that work directly with companies hired by the military, according to the report.
Harford County Executive David Craig said the county has already approved $200 million for expansion of the school district. Some of that money will be used to hire teachers, Craig said.
“The indirect economic impacts occur as new firms purchased goods and services from other firms,” according to the report.
Induced jobs are those jobs created by the new pool of workers now in the region as they go about buying goods and services with their paycheck.
But retired Gen. Jay Michael Hayes, director of military and federal affairs for the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, said the study is a draft, and the types and number of jobs will likely changes as more details and analysis comes forward.
He questioned some of the numbers and job categories, such as the study?s prediction that five mining jobs would be created.
Officials with Towson University?s RESI Research and Consulting could not be reached from comment.
Hayes also said some of the numbers for jobs createdare probably too low.
“What we are doing right now is the back and forth [analysis],” Hayes said. “More data analysis is needed to firm up the number and types of jobs created.”
