VA environmental jobs are crucial to the state’s economy.

According to a study by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, which was presented at the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation’s annual convention at The Homestead, Virginia’s agriculture and forestry industries have a $79 billion impact on the state’s economy. The two industries alone create about 501,500 jobs, or 10.3 percent of the state’s employment.

While the industries play an important role in Virginia’s economy, experts say there are favorable and unfavorable aspects to each industry, and the general public is drifting further away from both industries. According to an article by The News Virginian, the state can do more with its agriculture and forestry industries. One idea is that state farmers should diversify into farmers markets, agritourism, wineries, hay rides, pumpkin patches and pick-your-own places.

(more…)

The nation’s oil and gas industry is creating many Pennsylvania careers.

According to a recent study, The Economic Impact of the Oil and Gas Industry in Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania’s oil and gas industry is a great direct and indirect contributor to the economy, generating more than $7.1 billion in economic output each year. The study was prepared by the Pennsylvania Economy League of Southwestern Pennsylvania, an affiliate of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, at the request of the Marcellus Shale Committee.

According to an article by Market Watch, the study states the oil and gas industry employs 26,500 workers, as well as additional full and part-time jobs in other industries for each job created in the oil and gas industry.

(more…)

The previous sale of a then-doomed hospital has since created many new DC healthcare jobs.

About a year ago, Greater Southeast Community Hospital was sold to Specialty Hospital of Washington, and since that time the facility has made continued progress. By the end of this year, the hospital will have doubled its employees and created 800 healthcare jobs through the Long Term Acute Care program, Skilled Nursing Center and overall expansion of the hospital and emergency room.

Before the sale, Greater Southeast was facing losses of about $1.2 million per month and the hospital was under consideration for closure because of neglect and mismanagement. Today those financial losses have nearly been eliminated, according to a press release.

(more…)

People in Maryland are focusing on green energy, something that could create many new Maryland construction jobs.

The largest solar manufacturing assembly plant, owned by BP Solar, is located in Frederick, Maryland. The plant provides plenty of skilled jobs for workers, and the further development of alternative energy could provide millions more jobs while at the same time increase the country’s independence on foreign energy.

According to an article by the Baltimore Sun, newly-elect President Barack Obama`1 has promised to invest in alternative fuels. However, as the economy has made the cost of oil and natural gas lower as of late, that goal might be harder to reach.

(more…)

The construction of a nuclear power plant will create new Virginia jobs.

The French nuclear-support firm Areva and Northrop Grumman Newport News are teaming up to build a plant that makes components for holding nuclear plants’ dangerous and useful fuel. Creation of the plant is expected to create 540 jobs in Virginia.

Gov. Tim Kaine praised the $363.4 million project as “a positive step toward reducing greenhouse gases and reducing our dependence on foreign oil,” according to an article by The Free Lance-Star.

(more…)

The approval of many new clean energy projects should create several Pennsylvania construction jobs.

The State of Pennsylvania recently announced it would invest $12 million in alternative clean energy projects that will create about 1,200 full-time and part-time jobs. The projects, approved by the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority, are expected to garner $118 million in private investments, according to an article by Market Watch.

“We are investing in Pennsylvania businesses and organizations that are committed to the development of clean-burning home-grown fuels and renewable energy sources,” Governor Rendell said in the article. “The investment in innovative technologies and energy efficiency will help drive energy costs down, provide affordable energy, create good-paying, green jobs in communities throughout the state and reduce our dependence on foreign fuel.”

(more…)

While the current possibility of an economic recession has many Americans losing sleep, a new study finds that a recession could actually result in more Washington D.C. government jobs.

Many Americans, whether tied to Wall Street or not, are worried about their futures as 401K plans are unstable, foreclosures are abundant and both big cities and small towns are trying to adapt to this new market. Businessweek recently published an article on a study it completed, with data from PolicyMap, to determine the best places to live during a recession. In most of these places, the majority of the population works in government, healthcare, education, agriculture and legal services.

Washington D.C. came in as the second best place to live during a recession, behind Arlington, Va. In recent months, the economy has continued to add more jobs to Washington’s workforce.

(more…)

Many people are still looking for Maryland jobs.

In August, Maryland had an unemployment rate of 4.5 percent, up from 4.3 percent in July. Currently, more than 135,000 Maryland residents are looking for jobs they can’t find, 30 percent more than this time last year. This news comes despite the fact that Maryland employers are adding jobs. The state added 1,800 jobs during August, mostly from the private sector, according to an article by the Baltimore Sun.

Many industries are losing jobs as the housing market continues to plummet and credit crunch worsens. While Baltimore-based Constellation Energy Group recently had to sell itself, some businesses are continuing to thrive.

(more…)

Medical jobs in Virginia are continuing to grow.

As of August 2008, Virginia’s education and health services industry employed 431,200 workers, an increase of 2.5 percent from last year, according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This industry has seen an over-the-year increase every month this year, by 2.4 percent in March, by 2.3 percent in April, by 2.4 percent in May, by 2.7 percent in June, by 2.7 percent in July and by 2.5 percent in August.

According to the Virginia Workforce Connection, there were 344,320 jobs in Virginia’s healthcare and social services industry in 2006, and is projected to employ 451,823 workers by 2016. This represents an increase of 107,503 jobs, a growth of 2.75 percent annually or 31.2 percent total.

(more…)

Three main industries are expected to be responsible for adding the most jobs in Pennsylvania in the coming years.

The education and health services, professional and business services and leisure and hospitality industries are expected to account for 90 percent of Pennsylvania’s annual employment growth through 2014, according to an article by Center for Workforce Information and Analysis.

“These sectors reflect the dynamics of an aging population‘s need for more health care, the gradual transition of the Baby Boom generation out of the workforce and into an active retirement, and the continued transformation of the state’s economy from a goods producer to a service producer,” the article notes.

(more…)