Dallas-Fort Worth's emergence as one of the nation's biggest distribution and warehouse centers has had major impact: job creation.

"The biggest reason there's growth in industrial jobs is logistics – the highway, the airport and the intermodal facilities here," said David Pelletier, a spokesman for AllianceTexas in Fort Worth. Companies at its logistics hub added 2,700 jobs in the past year, he said.

Dallas-Fort Worth's central location and extensive rail and trucking systems make it one of the nation's lowest-cost areas for companies moving goods across the country. More than 13 million square feet of warehouse and distribution space is under construction – on top of 25 million square feet built in the past two years, according to a report from Grubb & Ellis real estate brokerage.

"All that activity fuels a whole bunch of jobs," said Terry Pohlen, director of the Center for Logistics Education and Research at the University of North Texas. "Companies are struggling right now to man their logistics operations. Baby boomers are leaving the workforce and taking a tremendous amount of expertise."

ATC Logistics and Electronics in Fort Worth has hired 238 temporary and permanent workers so far this year and plans to hire 300 more by year's end for packaging, shipping, testing and repairs, said president Antony Francis. Its packaging and shipping work for consumer electronics customers such as AT&T and TomTom navigation systems has increased dramatically, he said.

Cristi Abreo of Azle lost her warehouse job last year but found a temporary position at ATC, checking cellphones for defects and cosmetic flaws before shipping. Her job became permanent in July. The pay is similar, she said, but the benefits are better.

Recruiters say they see demand for a range of jobs from forklift drivers to operations managers, but most require experience.

Employers value experience because these workers require less training and companies are concerned about safety, security and liability, Dr. Pohlen said.

"It used to be that you could take someone off the street to drive a forklift," he said. "These days, they not only need to know how to drive a forklift but how to operate a computer and read the data."