Newport News, VA - Labor

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		Labor Availability

		Labor Quality

		Productivity+Wages

		Ancillary Labor Costs

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LABOR AVAILABILITY

The Occupations And Skills You Need, At Wages You Can Afford

A growing population, a steady supply of military retirees and military spouses, technical training programs operated by Northrop Grumman Newport News, NASA’s Langley Research Center and local government and an extremely livable environment all contribute to the excellent availability of labor found by employers in Newport News. The Newport News area has a healthy mix of labor at every skill level. NASA, the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab), Northrop Grumman Newport News and Continental AG attract scientists, engineers and computer specialists to the region. Officers and enlisted personnel exiting the military are a source of managerial talent and technically skilled personnel. The labor pool is balanced by a plentiful supply of hard working and motivated blue collar workers.

Labor Availability Tables

General Labor Force

Civilian Labor Force Growth

Annual High School and College Graduations

Military Employment

Employment by Occupation

The depth and resiliency of the Newport News labor force is made possible through its integration with the larger Hampton Roads labor force, which exceeds 800,000. Hampton Roads is the nations 31st largest metropolitan area and commuting patterns within the region are dynamic. The median journey to work within Hampton Roads was almost 22 minutes according to the 2000 Census, which translates to a labor shed of between 11 and 18 miles, depending on traffic patterns and access to Interstates. However, historically workers will drive much longer distances for jobs paying good wages, with Northrop Grumman Newport News (formerly Newport News Shipbuilding) setting a pattern of attracting workers from as far away as North Carolina.

The significant presence of the military is another source of labor force replenishment for businesses in Newport News. Each year, an average of about 15,000 personnel exit the military in Hampton Roads. Because of the high concentration of military commands in the region, and because of a number of Air Force and Naval air facilities, a large number of these exiting military personnel have college degrees, leadership experience and/or are highly technically trained. This includes training in information technology. Besides exiting military, the region’s military bases, which include Fort Eustis in Newport News, provide a source of replenishable labor from the pool of military spouses and dependents.

It is easy to attract and retain a highly educated workforce to Newport News because of its excellent quality of life combined with an affordable cost of living. Relocating companies such as Icelandic USA and Specialty Foods Group have had great success in the past in retaining key employees when those companies moved from the Northeast to Newport News. Recently, companies experiencing major expansions—Northrop Grumman Newport News, Wolseley/Ferguson Enterprises, Liebherr America and Continental AG—have experienced little difficulty attracting the corporate, engineering, administrative and manufacturing talent that they have needed.

Updated 04.04.08