Spring is a time for bloom and growth. As midwesterners, we anxiously await for spring to arrive! DeKalb County is poised for a significant boost in new jobs, as a result of the Ferrara Candy Company committing to the City of DeKalb for their new distribution center, and Grand Rapids, Michigan-based grocer Meijer, will soon open its doors in the City of Sycamore near the intersection of Peace Road and Route 23. DeKalb County is about to see a flourishment in employment soon.

Ferrara will invest $100 million dollars in a 1.6 million-square-foot distribution, and 466,000 square-foot food packaging center at the site of ChicagoWest Business Center between Route 23 and Gurler Road.  The investment will bring about 1,000 temporary construction jobs, with the first 500 permanent jobs around March 2021 when the distribution center is projected to be ready.  Another 500 permanent jobs will staff the packing center.

Meijer, the Michigan-based big-box retailer, has announced it is looking to fill 300 jobs.  Another not-yet-announced knowledge-based company is also interested in DeKalb’s south side and could bring 100 to 200 high-paying technology jobs.

All these projects and investments will cast an optimistic long-term projection of the local economy as DeKalb Mayor Jerry Smith called Ferrara’s confirmation a “catalyst for even further economic development”.  It’s a good season for people who are looking for a job and maybe a difficult time for employers who look to fill their vacancies.  The job opportunities are continuing to grow as the unemployment rate has reached the decades’ low of 3.6% for the whole country at the beginning of 2020 and 3.9% for the county in Dec. 2019.

DCEDC continues working with our Business Retention and Expansion Subcommittee and our CEDS Talent Pipeline Subcommittee to promote job recruitment and training resources.  We are optimistic that the work of our subcommittees will assist all of the DeKalb County businesses with the right tools and channels for securing the talent they need.

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