Looking for Work? Find Plenty of Top Jobs in Jackson, MS
Great career opportunities await in advanced manufacturing, health care, information technology, food processing, distribution and more.
The Jackson Metro offers plenty of opportunities, whether you are starting a career or looking to take it to the next level.
A booming, $24.2 billion economy includes advanced manufacturing, health care, information technology, food processing and distribution. Coupled with affordability and an outstanding quality of life, it is small wonder that companies, alongside people of all ages and from all walks of life, are moving to Jackson, MS.
“The entire area is one of the most affordable regions in the nation,” says Jeff Rent, president and CEO of the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership. “Your money goes further in the Greater Jackson area for housing, entertainment and other expenses. As the state’s capital city, career and educational opportunities also are abundant.”
With eight colleges and universities offering everything from certificate-based skills training to Ph.D. programs and the state’s largest medical teaching hospital in the University of Mississippi Medical Center, educational opportunities are a major draw to the region.
The Jackson Metro is a location where people can turn a job into a career, Rent says, pointing out that many of the state’s top employers are located within the region and close to additional training opportunities offered by the region’s colleges and universities. The region also is home to numerous banking headquarters and major manufacturers, not to mention the state’s largest medical research corridor, which provides career opportunities at all levels.
“Career seekers will find job and career opportunities around every corner,” Rent says, noting the area’s educational institutions have proactively created career pathways for emerging and existing workforces in manufacturing and multiple other careers.
Skilled Manufacturing Jobs in Jackson
That’s why thousands already are taking advantage of opportunities in the skilled trades arena alone. Greater Jackson is home to Nissan North America’s Canton assembly plant, which has a workforce of 6,000. Nissan’s arrival on the scene led to dozens of suppliers and support companies moving into the area, creating a major manufacturing hub.
One major new player is Continental Tire, which opened a 5-million-square-foot production complex in Hinds County, a $1.4 billion investment currently employing 500 people, a figure expected to rise to 2,500 workers over time.
Amazon is opening a new, state-of-the-art fulfillment center in Madison County that will bring more than 1,000 jobs, and such notables as AT&T, L3 Communications, Lockheed Martin, Johnson Controls and International Paper Co. also have put down strong roots. On the logistics front, major operators such as UPS, FedEx, YRC Freight and US Foods are here as well.
“Individuals, no matter what stage of their career they are in, can take advantage of free or low-cost skills training to either upskill or even learn new skills for a new career,” Rent says. “That’s another way that we continue to create opportunities for individuals, families and companies in our region.”
It all adds up to an area that competes, and wins, to draw in new residents and employers, Rent explains.
“Continental Tire chose the region for its state-of-the-art commercial vehicle tire manufacturing facility, and it could have chosen any one of dozens if not hundreds of other locations,” Rent says. “Greater Jackson had the site, the people and the training necessary to make our area home to their newest North American location.”
Score a Top-Notch Education in Jackson
A number of higher education options can be found in the capital region.
Jackson State University: Jackson State, a public university founded in 1877, includes colleges of business, education and human development, health sciences, and science, technology and engineering. The Historically Black University has an undergraduate enrollment of about 4,700. Jackson State is home to the Sonic Boom of the South, a famed marching band founded in the 1940s.
Hinds Community College: This community college has its main campus in Raymond and branches in Jackson and Vicksburg. The Jackson campus is headquartered downtown at the Academic & Technical Center. HCC-Jackson offers 70 career and technical programs in fields such as agriculture, construction, manufacturing, transportation and STEM.
Belhaven University: Founded in 1894 as Belhaven College for Young Ladies, the university today has bachelor’s degrees in 27 majors. In addition, master’s degrees are offered in business administration, leadership, public administration, teaching and education.
Millsaps College: Founded in 1890, Millsaps has 900 students on its Jackson campus and features a writing-intensive core curriculum. The college offers 32 majors, and students must pass comprehensive oral and written exams in their major before earning their degree.
Mississippi College: Located in Clinton, Mississippi College was founded in 1826 and is the oldest college or university in the state. It emphasizes public service, with the student population performing 40,000+ hours of community work each year.
Tougaloo College: A private Historically Black College in the Tougaloo area of Jackson, the college includes schools of education, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences. Tougaloo offers pre-health programs that prep students who want to enroll in schools of medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, medical technology, nursing, public health, cytotechnology, pharmacy and other health fields.