The seven counties of the Birmingham metro area saw almost $1 billion in capital investment this year and more than 1,000 more jobs added than had been anticipated.

That’s according to Birmingham Business Alliance President and CEO Brian Hilson, who spoke Monday at the BBA’s annual Chairman’s Meeting at Alys Stephens Center. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin echoed the comments, saying the City of Birmingham saw the largest amount of capital investment in its history over the last 12 months.

The 2018 tally of investment for the Birmingham metro area is almost $400 million more than for 2017. In all, since 2011, the area has seen $5 billion in capital investment and more than 23,000 announced jobs added.

Among the largest investments were the construction of Mercedes-Benz’s logistics, parts and electric battery operations in Bibb County, DC Blox and Shipt in Birmingham, Amazon’s Bessemer project, McLeod Software in Hoover, Eissman in Pell City and Yorozu in Jasper.

“However, some of the most important developments, while smaller today in terms of headcount and investment, are nevertheless important,” Hilson said. “The BBA has worked with some very special early-stage technology companies, like Incysus and XpertDox, to obtain investment capital to support their growth.”

Net employment in metro Birmingham increased by 6,100 in 2018, while workforce size increased by 13,125.