Frank Fuller grew up in a Midwest town with fewer than 10,000 people. He then spent most of his adult life in large cities like San Antonio.

While searching for a new job, he knew what he did not want - to go back to either of those.

He believes he found the perfect, happy medium in Abilene. The 50-year-old has been working as controller over finance and accounting at Abilene Regional Medical Center since May.

Fuller is one of more than 2,500 people who have been added to the civilian labor force - which includes those who are self-employed - in the Abilene area over the last year. The job growth places the Abilene area in the top half of the fastest-growing areas in the state, according to officials at the Texas Workforce Center. Abilene has the fifth lowest unemployment rate in the state.

''I am very comfortable here,'' said Fuller, whose job recruiter found jobs at several other locations for him. ''I like the city. It's nice-sized and has everything you need. I don't need to run off to Dallas to find anything.''

From the moment he arrived to interview at ARMC, he felt at home.

''The hospital here was very good-looking in the sense they have good operations and a great senior management in place,'' he said. ''The cost of living here is very good, everything is good. Coming here was a no-brainer, a very easy decision to make.''

By the numbers

Between July 2005 and July 2006, the number of people working in the Abilene Metropolitan Statistical Area grew by an estimated 2,550, according to data from the Texas Workforce Commission.

The number of people working in the three-county MSA (Taylor, Callahan and Jones counties) is estimated at 80,355. Add in those who are unemployed and you have a total labor force of 84,327. Abilene's unemployment rate is 4.7 percent.

The workforce commission classifies employment by industry. The fastest-growing industry in the Abilene area is the natural resources, mining and construction category, which grew by 15 percent over the last year.

Richard Burdine, Development Corporation of Abilene executive director and Abilene assistant city manager, said that since the start of DCOA's fiscal year, Oct. 1, 2005, businesses receiving DCOA funding have committed 692 jobs to the area.

Who is hiring?

Recently the classifieds have been full of jobs that span all different skill and pay levels. From temp jobs to nurses, delivery drivers to plumbers, mechanics to pharmacists, it seems there are enough jobs to go around.

Lauretta Remisovsky is branch manager for Transcend Services Inc. in Abilene. She said when hiring began in April 2005, the medical transcription company's goal was to hire about 208 people within five years. To date, there are 71 people working for the company. The company tries to hire about five people a month, Remisovsky said, but that ebbs and flows.

''We hire two types,'' she said. ''People who are experienced and they can work from home immediately or they may choose to work in the office if they don't have high-speed Internet access at home or an environment suitable for an office.''

They also hire people who have earned their medical transcription certificate from a local college or have taken equivalent courses. They are trained for about four months and then have the option to work at home or at the branch office. It's a production-based job, but she said the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2002 said there 101,000 jobs of this type in the country and earnings averaged $30,000 a year for people with a couple of years of experience. She also said the job is on the list of the in-demand occupations for this region.

''We're pleased with the way things are going,'' she said. ''It's a high-skilled, high-wage opportunity job in a health care field and things are going very good.''

Statistics show that from July 2005 to July 2006, educational and health services jobs grew by 600 in the Abilene MSA.

Carole Langner, co-owner of the staffing firm Temporaries Plus Inc. in Abilene, said the company has been busy with local job orders.

''I think the economic atmosphere is good, or at least much better than it has been in the more recent years,'' she said.

Langner said a steady number of folks are applying for jobs, both new workers to the Abilene area (people who have recently moved to the area and are looking for work) as well as those who are currently employed but who want to make a change.

The low unemployment rate, she continued, creates competition among companies for ''those top-notch, qualified candidates.''

Katie Robison, human resource and safety manager over West Virginia and Texas with PWP Industries, the new plastic manufacturing company in the Five Points Business Park, said hiring has been going well in the area.

Currently there are 25 full-time employees, and over the next few months the company expects to hire 35 more.

''We've been going through the work force center (to hire),'' Robison said. ''It's been a positive experience. We found the work force in the area is experienced, though unfortunately as a result of places like Crown Cork & Seal laying off.''

Robison said pay varies depending on whether the position is an entry-level or skilled one, but ''it falls in line with the area.''

Nancy Smith, community relations coordinator of the West Central Texas Workforce Center System, said the Abilene area rarely has a problem with finding entry-level workers and with several colleges and high schools, skill levels of all sorts can usually be found.

''It seems several companies are in a hiring mode,'' she said. ''And competition keeps wages strong.''

Debbie McClure with ARMC said the hospital is constantly adding positions; especially since it has begun a $26 million expansion.

''We recruit from all over the place, but we also concentrate a lot on local students and work closely with the nursing schools,'' she said. ''We also get a lot of people from Dyess Air Force Base. We love those military spouses. That's a great talent pool.''

The positions aren't just nursing, but radiology and pharmacy, admissions and the business office.

''We've been very impressed with the talent pool Abilene has to offer and the excitement of the people we recruit to the area,'' she said.

Worker shortage

Some industries are having difficulty finding employees.

Brandon Corbin, Texas human resource manager for Hirschfeld Steel Co., Inc., said that if manpower was available, the company would easily ''put 50 people in.'' It's not, so, ''wherein lies the problem.''

''There's a major shortage in our field,'' said Corbin from headquarters in San Angelo.

There's a new fast-track welding course at Cisco Junior College in Abilene, and Corbin said they are excited about that and expect to easily obtain workers.

Currently Abilene's facility is hiring welders, fitters and equipment operators. Experienced welders can make up to $950 a week plus bonuses and benefits and fitters up to $1,150. Even a person applying for an entry-level welding job, however, needs to have experience.

''We're really optimistic about the Cisco program,'' Corbin said.

He thinks that it seems people aren't going into blue-collar industry careers as much as they used to. With education so readily available, people might prefer to do something ''white collar,'' Corbin said. ''And this is a hard, hot, heavy job,'' he said.

Tommie Harendt, president of the Big Country Homebuilders Association, said contractors' biggest problem is there are not enough workers.

''Anybody that has any experience could get a (construction) job tomorrow,'' Harendt said. ''And even people that don't have any experience, if they are quick learners, could get on and be taught.''

He said the availability of the construction jobs is definitely there, and there are more jobs than people.

''Young people just aren't going into construction as much as they used to,'' he said. ''That's true of all the building trades.''

Growth in construction is happening everywhere, he said, so people aren't moving to other regions to find construction work. It can basically be found anywhere.

In the oilfield, employees are needed in all aspects of the job from management to field worker, said Alex Mills, president of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers,.

''Not many people have been looking to come into the oil business,'' said Mills. ''It's not looked with much favor because it's a very risky, volatile business.''

To attract more workers, companies are paying bigger salaries and working with universities around the state.

Bandera Drilling Co. has hired 18 new welders in the last year or so, said Ann Brazzel, company vice president. The need for more oil rigs led to the spike in the number of welders at her company, she said.

The economy

Ray Perryman is president of the Perryman Group in Waco, an economic and business consulting group. Perryman for the past 25 years has prepared an economic forecast for Abilene. He said that Abilene has experienced strong economic growth over the past year, and he sees ''considerable momentum going forward.''

While the strength comes from a number of sources, he said, two things stand out. The category of construction and minerals (oil and gas) is one.

''These tend to be higher-wage jobs,'' he said. ''Moreover, their availability tends to make it difficult for other sectors to find workers.''

The second area that has seen a lot of growth is various categories of services, such as business and professional, education and health care.

''Abilene has excellent educational institutions and training capabilities, which is a major advantage,'' he said.

He finds the wage levels are ''pretty much in line'' with areas of comparable size and industrial makeup. A shortage in workers tends to be self-correcting as expanding opportunities encourage work-force growth.

A work-force analysis commissioned by the Abilene Industrial Foundation in May revealed a ''pretty positive snapshot of the community,'' although it said there was room for improvement.

The analysis looked at three economic sectors - manufacturing, health care and information technology. It examined hiring factors, wages, labor availability and education factors.

Some health care salaries were higher in Abilene. Nurses in Abilene made $46,363 a year on average. There are more than 12,000 employees in health care, representing 23 percent of Taylor County's work force. This sector grew 18.2 percent between 2000 and 2003.

A recent check on Abilene Regional Medical Center's job Web site showed about 20 job openings for nurses, three in radiology and one or two here and there in other departments. The job site at Hendrick Health System shows nearly that in nursing and nursing support and nearly 17 other full and part-time jobs in various departments.

Job growth is complimentary of an economy that is developing, said Bill Ehrie, president of the Abilene Industrial FoundationHe believes in jobs being created for every skill set out there, and that people should really tap into and develop whatever their skill sets may be. Smith and Ehrie both said that the energy and manufacturing sectors seem to be growing, as well as oil and wind energy.''The city as a whole, when you look at it, the economy is very good,'' Ehrie said.

Abilene's Top 30 Employers

Employer Number of employees 2006 2005

Dyess Air Force Base 6,682 6,309

Hendrick Health System 2,761 3,000

Abilene ISD 2,698 2,785

Abilene State School 1,230 1,250

City of Abilene 1,197 1,153

Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice 1,163 1,235

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas 1,100 1,111

Abilene Christian University 850 850

Abilene Regional Medical Center 739 700

Sears Methodist Retirement 579 475

Taylor County 537 537

Rentech Boiler Systems Inc. 400 160

Teleperformance USA 375 238

Eagle Aviation Services 343 303

Hardin-Simmons University 335 312

U.S. Postal Service 319 350

Wylie ISD 312 300

First Financial Bank 300 258

Abilene Diagnostic Clinic 280 n/a

Abtex Beverage 270 270

McMurry University 263 265

Fehr Foods 250 233

Coca-Cola of Abilene 221 217

Mrs Baird's Bakery 200 200

AEP 189 223

Abilene Reporter-News 183 225

Tige Boats 180 150

Betty Hardwick Center 172 183

Lauren Engineers 143 182

Bandera Drilling Inc. 110 n/a

Source: Abilene Industrial Foundation

Abilene MSA workforce

The Abilene Metropolitan Statistical Area is made up of Taylor, Callahan and Jones counties.

Date Labor Force Employed Unemployed Unemployment rate

July 2001 75,765 72,199 3,566 4.7 percent

July 2002 78,150 73,816 4,334 5.5 percent

July 2003 79,952 75,355 4,597 5.7 percent

July 2004 80,070 76,100 3,970 5.0 percent

July 2005 81,388 77,805 3,583 4.4 percent

July 2006 84,327 80,355 3,972 4.7 percent

Source: Texas Workforce Commission

Abilene MSA nonagricultural employment

Industry July 2006 July 2005 Change

Education and health services 14,100 13,500 4.4 percent

Government 12,200 11,900 2.5 percent

Trade, transportation and utilities 11,800 12,000 -1.7 percent

Leisure and hospitality 6,700 6,600 1.5 percent

Natural resources, mining and construction 5,300 4,600 15.2 percent

Professional and business services 4,100 4,100 0 percent

Financial activities 3,200 3,200 0 percent

Manufacturing 3,100 3.100 0 percent

Information 1,200 1,200 0 percent

Source: Texas Workforce Commission

Up or down?

Information from the U.S. Census Bureau says Abilene's population is down, but Texas Workforce Commission figures say the work force is growing.

The census bureau put Abilene's estimated population at 114,757 for 2005, down from the 115,930 people counted in the official census in 2000.

Work-force figures are for a larger area - the entire county, plus neighboring Callahan and Jones counties. The total work force (employed and unemployed) was estimated at 84,327 for July - 2,939 more than a year ago.

With new businesses in town and new houses being built, city leaders have questioned the census figures.

Bill Ehrie, president of the Abilene Industrial Foundation, joins others who say they don't believe Abilene is shrinking. Job growth indicates otherwise, he said.