The Hinesville-Fort Stewart metropolitan statistical area recently was featured in the top 2 percent of MSAs nationwide for its workforce attributes in Area Development magazine’s 100 Leading Locations for 2014.
Among the “Top 20 Small Cities – Prime Workforce” list, the Hinesville-Fort Stewart MSA ranked No. 2 and was the only Georgia area to be featured. The MSA was ranked No. 9 for workforce among all 379 MSAs, landing it within the top 2 percent.
Rankings were compiled for the magazine’s annual location analysis, which explored economic and workforce data for 379 MSAs.
Data sets originate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Census American Community Survey, and Moody’s Analytics.
Liberty County Development Authority CEO Ronald E. Tolley credited Fort Stewart’s approximately 300 soldiers who transition out of the service each month with enhancing the region’s workforce strength.  
“I am pleased to see our area ranked highly for its prime labor force,” he said. “This accolade highlights the transitioning soldiers who have the highly sought-after soft and technical skills that our employers desire, and it validates workforce training initiatives made possible by collaborative partnerships.”
Workforce-development initiatives offered through Savannah Technical College, the state-funded Georgia QuickStart training program, and a blossoming partnership with the Liberty College and Career Academy are among the assistance programs that “can score big economic development successes,” such as those cited within the article.