LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. (WUSA) -- New job creation numbers from the Labor Department are painting a bleak economic picture. Employers added just 96,000 new jobs in August and although the unemployment number dropped from 8.3 percent to 8.1 percent, analysts says that was only because Americans gave up looking for work.
But a new CNN Money survey reveals the number one county in the nation for job growth is right in our backyard, in Loudoun County.
In fact, beyond the tight security, in undisclosed locations across the County, lies one of our area's best-kept secrets to economic growth. Data centers. A staggering seven million square feet of them.
"Information shows up on your computer. That information travels over the Internet to get there. And our job is to ensure that the infrastructure in which that data resides and sends that data to you is available and secure 24/7," said Peter Weber, the Chief Executive Officer of Carpathia.
This is part of Loudoun's Data Center Highway and Carpathia is a key stop along a well-paved road. It already employs 140, and is growing.
Explains Weber, "There is a lot of skilled labor here in Loudoun County. It's a very educated population. It's a very skilled work force."
Add to that, the fact that more than half of the world's Internet traffic goes through Loudoun County. And that's meant an extraordinary 83% increase in jobs here over the last decade.
"When we tell them that story, everybody says, 'Wow, I didn't know that!' So we're doing a better job of telling that and we also have Dulles airport here. Connections to 43 cities anytime. So that's a big attraction on an international basis," said Tom Flynn of Loudoun's Department of Economic Development.
Data Center Alley, with its bomb-proof data center vaults and armed security guards, is just 25 miles from the White House. And, it's nestled in a County residents say is a great place to live.
According to CNN Money, not only is Loudoun the Number one county in the nation for job growth, the town of Ashburn is listed as one of America's best places to live.
Written by Andrea McCarren
9NEWS NOW & WUSA9.COM