Fort Worth Sales Jobs Supported By Industrial Investments

Industrial investments are supporting many Fort Worth sales jobs. Check out http://dignity.texasjobs.com to see some current job openings.

A new report from Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc. found that industrial investment sales in the Dallas-Fort Worth area topped those in the rest of the nation during 2010, as the area sold about 16 million square feet of industrial space last year.

This is good news for anyone seeking sales employment opportunities in the area. The sales made last year should attract other companies to the area, which will in turn spike sales even further, while at the same time creating jobs and bettering the overall economy.

The top five cities for industrial investment sales during 2010 include:

1. Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas - 16 million square feet
2. Inland Empire, Calif. - 13 million square feet
3. Chicago, Ill. - 9 million square feet
4. Los Angeles, Calif. - 6 million square feet
5. Atlanta, Ga. - 6 million square feet

The Dallas-Fort Worth area ranked second in the nation for office building sales, with more than 5 million square feet of space sold last year. That was followed by 7 million square feet in Northern Virginia, 4 million square feet in Chicago, and 4 million square feet in Boston.

This is all good news for the Fort Worth area, which has seen pretty good employment figures in recent months. During December, the area's unemployment rate dropped from 8.2 percent to 7.9 percent, which was below the national average at the time of 9.4 percent.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Fort Worth-Arlington area employed a total of 858,300 workers during December, which is up from 857,600 workers during November and a 1 percent increase from the previous year.

Fort Worth Sales Jobs Attract Incentives

City officials are doing their part to keep Fort Worth sales jobs and many other positions in town.

Most recently, city officials offered RadioShack an incentive package for almost $10.8 million to keep the company in Fort Worth during the next six years. The package was put together by Jay Chapa, director of the Housing and Economic Development Department, and must be approved by the City Council and the TIF 6 board.

According to an article by the Fort Worth Business Press, officials wanted to extend an enticing offer to RadioShack after the company announced it was considering moving its headquarters to another city, possibly Tampa, Fla.; Raleigh, N.C.; Albuquerque, N.M.; Nashville, Tenn., and Irving.

The incentive package offered by Fort Worth would amend RadioShack's original economic development agreement. Amendments would include such things as reducing the required number of employees at the company's headquarters from 1,000 to 400.

The package also includes a point-of-sale agreement that would allow the city to take a 1 percent sales tax from RadioShack, giving .5 percent to the Crime Control and Prevention District and .5 percent to the Fort Worth Transportation Authority.

That sales tax would be split 50-50 between the city and RadioShack once the company collects the $10.76 million in incentives. RadioShack makes $15 million in new sales each year in Fort Worth.

In addition, the package would require officials to nominate RadioShack for the Texas Enterprise Zone Program, which provides state refunds for capital investments on job creation.

Aside from the pending RadioShack deal, the City Council also recently approved a 10-year tax abatement plan for Allen's Inc. in exchange for the company investing $4.7 million in property improvements at a recently-purchased building. That company plans to create 140 new jobs.