Growing Economy Making it Easier for Fort Worth Industries to Add Jobs, U.S. Transportation Secretary Peters Says on Day Government Announced More Than 111,000 Payroll Jobs Were Created in January

DOT 14-07
Contact: Sarah Echols
Tel.: (202) 366-4570
Friday, February 2, 2007

Growing Economy Making it Easier for Fort Worth Industries to Add Jobs, U.S. Transportation Secretary Peters Says on Day Government Announced More Than 111,000 Payroll Jobs Were Created in January

FORT WORTH, TX – On the day the government announced that over 111,000 new payroll jobs were created in the U.S. in January, the nation’s top transportation official was in Fort Worth to see how companies like FedEx are adding jobs as a result of growing demand for air cargo services triggered by the expanding economy.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary. E. Peters today toured the FedEx facility at Fort Worth’s Alliance Airport, where she announced that companies at the airport plan to add at least 1,000 new jobs this year in order to keep pace with growing demand for air cargo. She added FedEx has hired 300 new workers since 2004 to keep up with this growth, and she noted that almost 10 percent of the job growth was due to FedEx’s new flights to China made possible by an aviation agreement the Department of Transportation signed with China in 2004.

“The work being done here is about more than delivering a package. It’s about bringing new jobs, new investments and new opportunities to Fort Worth today and in the future,” Secretary Peters said.

Peters said that what is happening at both FedEx and the Alliance Airport is happening around the country, noting that “everywhere we look this economy is creating jobs by the thousands.” Peters said the January job growth marked the 41st straight month that the economy has added jobs, noting that since August 2003, the economy has added more than 7.4 million jobs. She added that unemployment remains low at 4.6 percent, well below the average rate of 5.1 percent for 2005.

She explained that the Bush Administration is investing record levels of money in transportation and leveraging public funds by encouraging partnerships with the private sector, noting that the Department of Transportation has invested $47 million to lengthen the runway at Fort Worth’s Alliance Airport to keep up with the growing air traffic.

Secretary Peters echoed the President’s message from his State of the Economy speech earlier this week noting that the economy is strong and “with the hard work of American workers and the right policies in Washington, we’re going to make it even stronger.”

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Briefing Room