Fayetteville Ranks High on Magazine's List for Job Growth

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Fayetteville is one of the top cities in North Carolina for job growth, according to the latest issue of "Inc." magazine.

The city is ranked overall No. 70 out of 400 cities nationwide for job creation, a jump from No. 202 last year. Only Raleigh and Wilmington did better in the magazine's rankings.

"A lot of it is the anticipation we're going to have in the next few years," said Glenn McQueen with the Employment Security Commision.

As many as 25,000 people are expected to move to Fayetteville and Fort Bragg by 2011 as a result of the Department of Defense's Base Realignment and Closure.

"Our construction market has really blossomed," McQueen said. "Our security market has really blossomed."

The Cumberland County Business Council says most of those jobs are in construction, but another job generator is the high-tech sector to support the military.

"What we have today are these highly skilled technology firms that are coming in to support not only to support the military but to support our community," said Business Council representative Kristie Lozano.

The job growth spurt comes even after a major employer, Black and Decker, moved to Mexico.

But McQueen said don't count on massive manufacturers coming in and hiring thousands of workers.