GWINNETT CELEBRATES ANNUAL JOB GROWTH & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

New & recently expanded companies honored at Partnership Gwinnett reception

(GWINNETT- METRO ATLANTA) November 10, 2011- Partnership Gwinnett, the community and economic development initiative led by the Gwinnett Chamber and over 160 public and private investors, honored its relocated and expanded businesses for 2011. Eighteen companies were recognized and celebrated for their significant success in business development and job growth this past year.

Companies such as Hisense, Peak 10, Hire Dynamics, I-Tech Staffing, Graham Field, Primerica and Elesys gathered to celebrate their growth and network with community business leaders.

“We are very happy to welcome all of these growing companies to our community,” said Gwinnett County Chairman Charlotte Nash. “Their choice to expand within or relocate to Gwinnett makes a great statement about their confidence in the strength of our business environment and rich quality of life; we look forward to supporting and participating in their continued success.”

The celebration comes in the wake of numerous major expansion announcements in Gwinnett over the past several weeks including NanoLumens, Mitsubishi, Ricoh Electronics, and Primerica - all making significant investments into the community. Partnership Gwinnett’s internationally award-winning efforts have recorded over 285 expansions and 12,500 jobs since its inception in 2007.

“Our public and private community partners that have led the tremendously successful economic development efforts in Gwinnett,” said Nick Masino, Vice President of Economic Development and Partnership Gwinnett at the Gwinnett Chamber. “Their vision and leadership fuel Partnership Gwinnett and enable us to collectively welcome and celebrate with these growing companies to Gwinnett.”

Gwinnett County has maintained the lowest unemployment rate of the five core Metro Atlanta counties for 28 consecutive months as a direct result of such relocated and expansions. In June, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its 2010 Q4 County Employment preliminary estimates. The numbers revealed that Gwinnett County is leading Georgia in employment growth, with a significant wage increase in 2010. Additionally, the report identified that Gwinnett’s employment growth was almost double the national average (0.9%) between December of 2009 and December 2010. The robust wage growth year-over-year was identified at 3.7%, the second-highest among large counties in the state and 0.7 percentage points above the national average. Large counties are defined by the BLS as those with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2009 annual average employment.

As 2011 comes to a close, so do the first five-years of Partnership Gwinnett. However, Gwinnett is only weeks away from taking its award-winning economic development success to the next level, preparing to unveil Partnership Gwinnett II in January 2012. Watch for more information on this much anticipated launch and for more information on the existing initiative, visit partnershipgwinnett.com.

About Partnership Gwinnett
Partnership Gwinnett is Gwinnett’s economic and community development initiative. Led by the Gwinnett Chamber and a host of public and private partners, the initiative targets the retention and expansion of existing Gwinnett businesses in addition to the development of new business in five key market segments: Healthcare; Advanced Communications; Information Technology; Trade & Distribution; and Regional/Corporate Headquarters. The ultimate goal is to promote economic wealth & diversification, increase education and work force excellence, improve quality of life and heighten visibility through marketing and outreach programs for the entire Gwinnett community.  For more information on Partnership Gwinnett, the internationally award-winning community and economic development initiative, please visit www.partnershipgwinnett.com.