Business & Tech

Fairfax County Jobs Report: 1,400 New Jobs in 2013

Fairfax County Economic Development Authority officials say despite high number, sequestration causing job growth to slow down.

The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) helped bring more than 1,400 jobs from 27 different companies during the first quarter of 2013.

Salient Federal Solutions, a company that provides information techonology support to government and commercial customers, created the most opportunity countywide, adding 530 jobs in Fairfax, FCEDA officials said Friday. 

“In today’s environment, any business growth is remarkable,” FCEDA President and CEO Jerry Gordon said in a statement.

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But the number of new jobs was still down from the first quarter of 2012, when the FCEDA worked with 46 different businesses to bring in nearly 2,000 jobs.

Gordon told Patch the slowdown was caused by cold feet from business owners, who hesitated to grow with the unknowns surrounding sequestration.

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“There’s so much uncertainty around sequestration,” he said. “Those who provide government services or want to provide government services are not making decisions about expansions right now."

That uncertainty could have far-reaching effects, Gordon said.

“All that trickles down,” he told Patch. “If people are being furloughed, or if they’re afraid they’re going to be furloughed or lose their jobs or contracts, they’re not spending money. Consumer confidence indices are down. I think jobs are slowing down across the board.”

Of the 1,400 new jobs, about 300 are located in Tysons Corner.

FrontPoint Security Solutions, a Tysons-based provider of wireless home security systems, is adding 179 positions to the county economy.

Chris Villar, FrontPoint’s co-founder and CEO, said his business’s success was due in large part to its Fairfax County location.

“Not only is the close proximity to Washington D.C. and surrounding suburbs appealing, but access to top-tier universities and the high concentration of technology companies also make attracting top talent easier,” he said in a statement.

new jobs to the county economy in 2012, and announced in February 2013 that it would be opening a Boston office to attract New England businesses to Fairfax County. 

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