CHRISTIANSBURG, VA -
The New River Valley is one of the fastest growing regions in Southwest Virginia.
Now new statistics suggest it's one of the fastest growing regions for jobs nationwide.
According to the yearly Current Employment Statistics (CES) released by the federal government, the NRV has seen employment grow more than 10 percent in the last two years.
In that time the NRV has added more than 7,000 new jobs.
"We feel like we can fill as many jobs as we can create," said Aric Bopp, Executive Director of the New River Valley Economic Alliance. "Seeing 10 percent growth, that just means that companies are catching on and realizing they can do well here, there's an abundance of talent and young people and highly educated people."
When it comes to adding jobs the NRV ranks very favorably compared to other regions.
For the last two years the NRV ranked in the top 10 nationwide in job growth, the only region to do so.
"At some point and time people are going to wake up and realize there's a real economic engine taking place in the New River Valley," Bopp said. "Virginia Tech has a lot to do with it, our private sector workforce has a lot to do with it."
With between 8,000 and 10,000 college graduates each year Bopp said there is no shortage of qualified workers for companies in the NRV.
