Employers & Workforce

Review our Spotsylvania Demographic Profile (PDF) for a comprehensive look at the county’s workforce.

Growing Employee Base

The employment base of the Fredericksburg Region is the fastest growing in the Commonwealth. The area offers substantial numbers of competitively priced employees, with a variety of skills and training, and high educational attainment, for new, expanding, or relocating business and industry. The exceptional quality of life and the affordable lifestyle found in the Fredericksburg Region make it easy to attract and retain key employees.

Hidden Workforce

The key to understanding the regional labor market’s "hidden workforce" is in examining the characteristics and factors affecting this unique labor market:

  • There is a substantial employment pool of out-commuters due to limited regional labor market opportunities.
  • Approximately 48% of the region’s available workforce commute to jobs outside the region.
  • Commuting in our area has become a "way of life," and 30 to 60+ minutes commutes are common. According to the 2000 U.S. Census Bureau, Spotsylvania County citizens mean travel time to work, for workers 16 and older is 37.1 minutes.
  • Many residents would readily accept positions in the region at competitive salary levels to end or minimize the daily trek. Conversely, many residents to the north would choose to make the "easier and less expensive" commute south for employment opportunities.
  • Many residents value the area’s highly desirable quality of life and lower cost of living and elect "not to commute" to employment opportunities outside the region. These potential employees are constantly searching for more challenging positions locally. Significant spousal unemployment exists in the region due to the large number of federal government employees, military dependents, and large, private sector federal contractors who live in the region but work in the Northern Virginia/Washington D.C. area.

Spotsylvania County has access to a strong, well-balanced labor force. Because Virginia is one of the 20 states that has a "right-to-work" law, this results in high performance from area employees and a high level of employer satisfaction.