CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Before the recession hit, Charlotte was one of the fastest-growing areas in the country. While it certainly has felt the impact of the downturn, its variegated economy has helped it weather the worst and show signs of gradual recovery.
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North Carolina as a whole saw unemployment climb above 10% and Mecklenburg County, in which Charlotte is located, was not immune. In fact, in April 2010 unemployment was 10.9%. That figure had receded to 9.8% by this April, however.
According to John Connaughton, an economist at the University of North Carolina, the state should see modest growth this year. 'Overall the North Carolina economy suffered through a modest recovery at best during 2010,' he says. 'While the U.S. economy maintained a modest yet stable record of economic growth, the North Carolina economy started strong but had very weak growth during the spring and summer quarters.'
Overall, Connaughton sees the state's economy growing 2.7% in 2011, up from 1% last year. The sectors expected to do best are wholesale trade (up 5.1%), retailing (up 3%) and services (up 3%). Those sectors, not surprisingly, are also expected to see the strongest job growth, along with insurance, finance and real estate.
Charlotte is well positioned to share in the recovery, since the Charlotte/Mecklenburg Metropolitan Statistical Area counts health care, government services, banking and finance, retail telecommunications, and manufacturing among its largest employers. The city of Charlotte is home to several major corporations, including Bank of America, Duke Energy, SPX, Nucor, Goodrich Corp. and such retailers as Family Dollar Stores Inc., Lowe's Cos. and Ingles Markets Inc., a strong regional supermarket chain.
Perhaps somewhat surprising is the fact that Charlotte has maintained a modest manufacturing sector. Textile manufacturing was once a major economic pillar, but currently the area's manufacturers represent a wide range of industries, including machinery, chemicals, medical and dental equipment, plastics, optical technology, and defense.
The city touts its low-cost labor environment as a draw for business, with average hourly earnings of $15.75 in 2009, lower than the national average. A right-to-work state, North Carolina has the lowest unionization rate in the country at less than 4%. It also boasts one of the lowest unemployment insurance tax rates and workers' compensation rates, which undoubtedly appeals to corporate leaders but is a questionable draw for skilled workers.
While Charlotte's economy is no longer as dependent on banking as it used to be, it is still the second-largest banking center in the country behind New York, with $2.3 trillion in banking assets headquartered in the city. The nation's largest bank holding company, Bank of America, is headquartered here, while five of the nation's top 25 banks have operations in the city.
In recent years Charlotte has expanded its financial services base to include the investment industry, adding national customer service and operations centers for Vanguard Group and Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement Equities Fund.
Looking to the future, Charlotte's business leaders have visions of the city as a 'global knowledge center' in which highly skilled workers apply the latest technologies to create products and services for the global market. Areas of specialization the city hopes to secure are precision metrology/optoelectronics, bioscience and security technology.
Charlotte's biotech ambitions draw on the foundation that exists to the north in the Research Triangle Park, located near the cities of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, N.C. Closer to home, the Piedmont Triad, centered on Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem, N.C., also has a significant biotech base.
Whatever industries eventually drive its growth, Charlotte almost certainly can expect continued expansion. The city's population reached 731,424 in 2010, up 5% from its 2008 level, and making it the nation's 17th largest city by population.
The Charlotte/Gastonia/Salisbury Combined Statistical Area, meanwhile, contains 2.4 million people, up a whopping 26% from its 2000 population. Some projections see the city's population exploding to 12 million by 2028, with household income nearly tripling.
RELATED ARTICLE: CHARLOTTE AT A GLANCE
2009 POPULATION: *
704,422
POPULATION CHANGE, 2000-2009: *
+30.2%
2007 RETAIL SALES: *
$10.1 billion
NO. OF RETAIL OUTLETS: *
2,544
MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME *
$52,364
MARKET SHARE LEADERS: **
FOOD: **
HarrisTeeter
DRUG: **
CVS
DISCOUNT: **
Walmart
* Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
** Source: Racher Press research.
