They haven’t exactly been seismic shifts.
But in the past 10-20 years, several trends have changed the Hampton Roads employment landscape.
For one thing, the military doesn’t have quite the dominance it once did. As the total number of jobs in Hampton Roads has been growing – from 589,000 jobs in 1990 to 700,000 jobs today – the military has downsized.
Military employment has fallen from about 89,000 workers in 1990 to 76,000 today. The number of federal civilian workers, most of them also working on military bases, also has fallen, from 56,000 in 1990 to 48,000 today.
There also has been a slight shift away from shipbuilding as the region’s main economic engine. Newport News Shipbuilding, for example, the country’s only maker of nuclear aircraft carriers, is still the region’s largest employer. But it had 26,000 workers in 1990, whereas it has fewer than 17,000 today.
The slack has been picked up by other sectors.
Business services, for example, a sector that includes everything from lawyers, engineers and computer service workers to telemarketers, janitors and landscaping providers, has grown from 28,000 workers in 1990 to 50,000 today.
Other areas of growth have been in local government, retail trade and transportation equipment. Manufacturing has pretty much held even, with companies like Siemens, Gateway and Canon replacing much of the decline in shipyard manufacturing.
The Hampton Roads economy has been tight – with unemployment hovering around 3 percent – prompting some employers to seek out teen-age workers and those of post-retirement age. Some, including Busch Gardens, have taken to recruiting employees in Europe because there are so few to be had in Hampton Roads.
Expansions
Here are business expansions and relocations into Hampton Roads in 1999 and 2000:
Wal-Mart: The retailer is building a 1-million- square-foot import distribution center in the Green Mount Industrial Park, at the James City County and Newport News line. Will hire 230 people.
Nextel Communications: Added 200 jobs to a new customer service center in Hampton Roads Center.
Computer Sciences Corp.: Recently hired 100 more employees to handle new contracts with the Department of Defense.
APAC Customer Service: Plans to hire 172 people for its service center in Newport News. APAC runs a tracking package service for United Parcel Service.
Symantec Corp.: Bought out URLabs, a Newport News maker of programs that screen objectionable material from the Internet, and plans to increase its work force from 34 to more than 100.
Ace Hardware Corp.: International dealer-owned cooperative announced new distribution center in Prince George County, which will employ 325.
Picus Communications: Telecommunications provider expanded its Virginia Beach facilities from 50 employees to 220 and plans to grow to more than 400 by the end of this year.
McCord Consumer Direct: Plans to hire 200 employees in Newport News by the end of the year to take travel reservations.
Evercel Inc.: Battery maker plans to add 180 jobs at Oakland Industrial Park in Newport News.
BestBuy Inc.: Plans to add about 100 employees to a new store on Jefferson Avenue in Newport News.
Top 10 privaae employers in Hampton Roads
EmployerBusinessEmployees
1. Newport News Shipbuilding shipyard 16,800
2. Sentara Health Systems health care 14,500
3. Riverside Health System health care 7,141
4. Food Lion grocery store chain 6,124
5. Smithfield Foods meatpacker 6,000
6. Anheuser-Busch operator of Busch Gardens, 5,900
Water Country USA and beer brewery
7. Farm Fresh grocery store chain 4,286
8. Bon Secours health care 4,200
9. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation tourism 3,750
10. Bank of America bank 3,431
Wages
Annual earnings per worker by industry for Hampton Roads and the United States:
Industry Hampton RoadsNational
Total $29,993 $33,097
Farming $8,574 $13,756
Manufacturing $40,885 $45,542
Transportation, public utilities $37,188 $46,605
Wholesale trade $36,798 $44,808
Retail trade $14,169 $17,400
Finance, insurance, real estate $24,186 $39,018
Services $23,877 $30,136
Federal, civilian $57,281 $61,643
Military $46,752 $33,441
State and local $31,814 $35,649
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis
Cutbacks
A few local companies have made recent announcements about cutting back or shutting down operations:
Newport News Shipbuilding: Planned to lay off 700 workers, mostly through attrition, to cope with a temporary slowdown in aircraft carrier refueling work.
Norshipco: Norfolk-based shipyard laid off 180 workers after the Navy canceled scheduled submarine work.
Norfolk Southern Corp.: Laid off 550 employees, blaming falling revenues, high diesel prices and a weak export coal market.
Winn-Dixie: Laid off 262 people after shutting down five area Winn-Dixie grocery stores, including three on the Peninsula.
Shorewood Packaging: Maker of paperboard and cardboard packages laid off 46 Newport News employees.
Find out more
* The Business section of the Daily Press offers national, regional and local news about businesses of all sizes and expanded stock listings. The daily Business section can be found inside the Local section. And look to Sunday Business each week for stories about companies making an impact on the Peninsula, the state and the country.
