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View Full Version : Forbes Magazine Names Jacksonville, NC #1



Kegler300
04-23-10, 04:01 PM
Of course, without Camp Lejeune, this town would have dried up and blown away a long time ago. Any of you old salts and has-beens looking for a job? Sorry, though, Court Street has been boarded up...


Jacksonville is the No. 1 city in America to find a job, according to rankings released this week by Forbes magazine.

And while the rest of the nation may be slowly climbing out of the hole, Jacksonville has jumped clear of economic woes, according to a Tuesday report from MSNBC detailing job growth in low-population areas.

Out of 205 metropolitan areas in recession recovery, Jacksonville stands out as the only area in full-bore expansion, according to MSNBC’s research.

The main reason Jacksonville has recovered so well is that it did not fall as far. During the national recession, the Marine Corps presence helped keep the local economy stable, said Ralph Leeds, director of the N.C. Employment Security Commission in Jacksonville.

Jacksonville jobs in the civilian sector tend to be service oriented, mainly in retail or at the various call centers. Military contract jobs aboard Lejeune range from mess hall cooks to technicians on V-22 Ospreys, Leeds said.

“There are big name contractors hiring local people and former Marines to work on base,” he said. “People don’t realize the big names are here because they don’t have an office with their name out front, but companies like Boeing, General Dynamic and Northrop Grumman keep a lot of people employed.”

Statewide, Jacksonville’s current unemployment rate is second only to Durham. In February 2010, Jacksonville was at 8.6 percent with Durham at 8.4. For perspective, Charlotte’s jobless rate was 12.8, Leeds said.


JDNews (http://www.jdnews.com/news/bodycopyrag-77471-class-says.html)