Charlotte, North Carolina: A Smart City
Insulated from Recession and Jobs Increasing
Charlotte - Mecklenburg labor market or Workforce Development area is a prospering region with many attractions to fuel tourism and related industries involving retail, food service, accommodations and others. Healthcare is also a big market contributor.
Being a Smart City, a significant percentage of its population has earned at least a Bachelor's Degree or higher, not to mention all the Associate's Degrees (AA, AS, etc.) and educational certifications of those that do and do not possess the BA/BS. as a college town, Charlotte is very bright educationally and economically and this keeps it somewhat above the fray of economic downturns and recessions.
All this is not to say that some jobs were not lost in the 2008 - 2010 US recession, but Charlotte was not devastated by that timeline of events and the numbers of jobs listed for the market area increased overall from 2005 - 2009 and significantly from July - October 2010. This was in time to experience even more job listings resulting from the 2009 Holiday Season. By July 2014, Charlotte enjoyed job listings of over 58,400 employment vacancies.
Reverend Billy Graham Library and Birthplace Memorial
Billy Graham in Church City
- Library Easter celebration | Photo Gallery | BGEA
Billy Graham Library
- The Billy Graham installation is quite welcoming. A tour of buildings and grounds takes three hours, with an on site cafe and book store for the convenience of visitors.
Strong, Smart People and Politics
Democratic National Convention in Charlotte
- | Photos: Democratic National Convention | Swampland | TIME.com: http://ti.me/WtnWro - TIME's photo editors bring you the best pictures from the start of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. More photo galleries from the Democratic National Convention: The Obama Brand The Art of Political Stagecraft...
- Highlights from the Democratic National Convention - SFGate
- CHARLOTTE, N.C.: After furor, Democrats change platform position on Israel | Politics | - In damage control, the Democratic Party abruptly reversed course Wednesday and reinstated language to the party's platform asserting that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. The party also reinstated the word "God" in the platform.
A Woman Called Charlotte
The City of Charlotte in Mecklinberg County was named a year previous to its founding to honor the mistress of King George III of England during colonial days. This was Charlotte, or "Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz" a German woman of royalty that married George.
This is a reason that the city is called the Queen City. However, during the Revolutionary War, so much dissent and rebellion was given the British by the American Colonists, that the city became known as The Hornet's Nest - much in keeping with the US Naval Jack motto Don't Tread on Me . Colonials that felt English rule to be abusive would not submit to defeat and became like dangerous members of the animal world to the Redcoats.
The city started out as a trading post and fort near the Catawba River, constructed at the crossing of two Native American pathways. The Charlotte area became a gateway for travel from the north to the south for new settlers and remained so, leading to a health Travel and Tourism Industry today. Wagon trails, railroads and a railroad hub, major highways, and finally airports locked in transportation revenues and opportunities.
Some settlers stayed on in Charlotte in stead of moving on and built a number of churches of different denominations, leading to another nickname - Church City. In the 21st Century, numerous organizations and publications have names Charlotte a Best City as well - best place to live, best place to begin a new business, and many others.
Adding to the church city reputation, world famous evangelist Billy Graham was born in Charlotte. A large library in the city is a tribute to his work around the globe.
NASCAR and Other Events
NASCAR Hall of Fame
Click thumbnail to view full-sizeFamous Attractions
- The NASCAR Hall of Fame - Where the race lives on.
The official site of The NASCAR Hall of Fame - a state-of-the-art facility that will honor NASCAR icons and create an enduring tribute to the drivers, crew members, team owners and others that have impacted the sport in the past, present and future. - Carowinds - North and South Carolina's Best Theme Park
Carowinds is the biggest, most unique theme park experience in the Carolinas. - Levine Museum of the New South
- US National Whitewater Center
Whitewater rafting.
I-77 Corridor Creates Economic Health
Long-Term Jobs Increase 2005 - 2015, especially 2009 - 2015
Click thumbnail to view full-sizeTop High Demand Jobs In the Greater Charlotte Area
The long-term most frequently listed positions are:
- Registered Nurses, including Nurse Practitioners
- Project Managers
- Truck Drivers with CDL
- Network and Systems Engineers
- Business Analysts
- Software Engineers
- Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineers
- Salespeople
- Sales Representatives
- Nursing Assistants
- Pharmacy Technicians
- Medical Assistants
- Speech-Language Pathologists
- Grocery Store Jobs
- Managers and Assistant Managers
- Financial Analysts
- Physical Therapists
- Occupational Therapists
- Restaurant and Food Service Managers and Assistants
- Restaurant and Food Service Team Members (Crew, frontline workers)
Job Market Is Increasing in the Research Triangle
Check Out the Research Triangle
- Top 20 Fast Growing, High Paying, Hi-Tech Jobs in Wake Forest
Wake Forest is not only home of Wake Forest University, but interesting because of a number of additional aspects. As the fastest-growing city in North Carolina, Wake Forest is located at the edge of the North Carolina Research Triangle, a major...
Best Charlotte Companies for Hiring
- IBM
- Carolinas HealthCare System
- Food Lion
- Bayada Nurses
- Novant Health
- Medical Connections, Inc
- Tenet Healthcare Corporation
- TEKsystems
- Noviant Health
- CDI Corporation
- Comsys
- Bank Of America
- Energy Placement
- Harris Teeter and Pizza Hut - Yum! Brands, Inc. (tied)
- Adecco and Slpjobs.com (tied)
Largest Companies
These companies maintain the largest employee groups in Charlotte:
- Bank of America Corp - also a top hiring company.
- International Paper Co
- Mid South Metal Buyers
- Wachovia Corp
- Duke Energy Corp
- Schneider National Inc
- Continental Tire North America
Projected High Growth Jobs to 2022
Entries in bold print are already in the top most-frequently listed (high demand) job openings in the Charlotte area.
- Customer Service Representatives (CSRs)
- Retail Sales People
- Combined Food Prep & Service Jobs - includes crew and managers
- Home Health Aides (HHAs) - and similar aide positions, personal/healthcare.
- Registered Nurses (RNs)
- Waitstaff
- Janitors and Cleaners
- Bookkeepers, Accountants, Auditors and related Clerks
- General Office Clerks
- Executive Secretaries & Administrative Assistants
- Landscapers, Groundskeepers and helpers
- Tellers
- Sales Representatives, in Wholesale and Manufacturing
- Construction Laborers and Supervisors and Carpenters
- Business Operations jobs
Higher Education
Charlotte is certainly a college town, given the number of high quality universities and colleges in and around the city. Higher education facilities often draw funding, research professionals, and new businesses into a city, thereby creating new fields of work and additional job listings for residents. Students are drawn to such cities and often stay on after graduation.
- Art Institute of Charlotte - Degree programs in the areas of Design, Media Arts, Fashion, and Culinary Arts and Management.
- Belmont Abbey College
- Brookstone College
- Carolina School of Broadcasting
- Carolinas College of Health Sciences
- Carolinas HealthCare System, Mercy School of Nursing
- Central Piedmont Community College
- Community School of the Arts
- Central Piedmont Community College
- DeVry University and Keller Graduate School
- EPCI College of Technology - Charlotte
- European School of Music
- Johnson & Wales University
- Johnson C Smith University
- King's College, Charlotte
- Monart Drawing School
- New Life Theological Seminary
- Pfeiffer University
- Presbyterian Hospital, School of Practical Nursing
- Queens University of Charlotte
- TechTrain
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte
- University of Phoenix at the Charlotte Campus
Charlotte Professional and Semi Pro Sports
- Charlotte Knights Baseball
- Carolina Panthers Football NFL
- Charlotte Bobcats Basketball NBA
- Charlotte Checkers Ice Hockey ECH
- Charlotte Professional Wrestling NWA
- Charlotte Eagles Soccer USL-2
- Charlotte Lady Eagles Soccer W-League
- Charlotte Roller Girls - Roller Derby, flat track.
- Carolina Speed Indoor Football AIFA
- Charlotte Rugby Football Club RSL
© 2009 Patty Inglish MS
Comments and Additions
I have recently started attending a job support group ran by HR professionals. They keep saying that, yes Charlotte is not as bad as some places but the competition for what jobs are available is so fierce that even Monster and CareerBuilder are useless now because HR people are getting overwhelmed by the amount of applications they get for every job opening. They say that networking is the way to go now. So for that 17,000 jobs available there may be 100,000 people applying.
A brand new Walmart just opened up down the road from me. They had 700 positions they needed to fill and received 15,000 applications.
This was a great and informative article. Thank you for sharing. Voted up, interesting.
sad to say it living in charlotte,nc has been hard to try to get a job anywhere at this moment
sources
Ive tried for like 6+ months
Wow. I enjoyed reading. Congratulations
I have never been to North or South Carolina, two of the few states I've never been to. (perhaps the only such states) So it has been good for me to read these hubs of yours. They give everyone a little more insight on what is to be found in such places as Charlotte. Thanks for the Hub, Don White
That was interesting and i thank you for sharing.
7