Under the leadership of the County Executive's Office, Chamber of Commerce, and the Municipal Governments of the County targeted and consolidated efforts to grow jobs in Campbell county. Positive achievements and great strides have been made in the past decade. The Campbell County work force has grown from eleven thousand five hundred (11,500) to over sixteen thousand (16,000). This represents 38.6% more jobs for the Campbell County workers. Today, Campbell County has a very favorable ranking of 4th place among the sixteen (16) regional counties for the percent of our work force commuting out of county.

The Campbell County Work Force is diverse and multi-skilled in many trade specialties. The opportunities for companies to recruit employees with specialty skills are available and reinforced by the presence of the Tennessee Technology Center with one of our industrial operations is varied and includes auto parts manufacturers, high skill machine operations, defense contractors, appliance manufacturing, biotech, commercial metal and building systems, and a broad menu of other specialty production companies

Opportunities are abundant in Campbell County for industrial prospects to find a menu of a skilled labor force, strategic transportation network, local training capability, industrial park sites with all utilities in place, and a variety of industrial buildings available for sale or lease. All these assets await industrial prospects plus the bonus of being within a one-day drive of all the major markets in the Eastern United States. One of our strongest marketing tools is that we strongly support existing industry. Prospects realize that once the ribbon is cut for their "Grand Opening" that they fall into the category of "existing industry" and appreciate the ongoing support for their company.

Industrial recruitment/marketing efforts are conducted in diverse manners using local, regional, and state resources. Campbell County is a member of the East Tennessee Economic Development Agency (ETEDA), a regional marketing organization that targets not only regional and national prospects, but also involves itself with international prospects in going forward with its mission. The State of Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TECD) is the primary agency promoting industrial recruitment for the state. TECD will market and coordinate efforts with both the local governments and potential prospects. They offer a broad program format that includes loan, grant, and training programs for qualified entities. Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is also a major participant in economic development and industrial recruitment with a menu of numerous loan and industrial support programs.

All these agencies (TECD, ETEDA, and TVA) have recognized the need for regional and program coordination and in East Tennessee have joined together to operate shared office space in Knoxville. This permits industrial prospects and existing industry to avail itself in a "one stop" atmosphere and permits our local efforts to better serve prospects, new industrial companies, and existing industrial needs.

The Campbell County Joint Economic and Community Development Board (JECDB) is structured to promote cooperative and unified efforts to plan and implement economic development projects within the County. The board consists of representation from the County Executive's office, all municipalities, major utilities, the Chamber of Commerce, rural interests, tourism and economic developers.