Loudoun County ranks fourth in nation for job growth

Between 2000 and 2008, the number of jobs available to the county’s labor force of nearly 170,000 grew by 76.9 percent. Proximity to Washington and Washington Dulles International Airport, a highly educated population, and the county’s seven historic towns are among the assets CNNmoney.com credits forLoudoun’s employment expansion.

“It’s important to be in a healthy region with a highly educated work force, because that’s the kind of community that those business leaders want to go,” said Dorri Morin, spokeswoman for Loudoun’s economic development office. Loudoun’s household median income is $107,207 according to the most recent Census Bureau survey in 2007 — the highest in the nation. Jobs in the county are heavily tied to technology, aerospace and aviation, and defense contracting industries. Loudoun counts the Department of Homeland Security, Verizon, United Airlines, which has a hub at Dulles, and AOL — though its headquarters have moved to New York– among its largest employers. Despite a jump in unemployment from 2.8 percent last year to 5 percent this year, the number of new jobs in the county rose by 2 percent by the end of 2008. Closely linked to Loudoun’s expanding job market is the county’s significant population growth. Nine years ago, Loudoun’s population was roughly 165,000. Currently, it’s just under 280,000. Growing businesses and vibrant communities have attracted people from all over the country to Loudoun, said Larry Rosenstrauch, the county’s director of economic development. “When I came here 14 years ago, almost 90 percent of people had been here 10 years or less,” he said. “Now, it’s more like 60 percent because people are staying.”