Employment
Charlotte has experienced a steady growth in new business over the past ten years. Over 8,869 new firms have invested $8.6 billion in new Charlotte facilities. This has provided current employment to over 770,200 people in the city’s metro area. Unemployment has remained at a relatively low rate of 5.5%.
Charlotte is first and foremost a banking city. With more than $1.1 trillion in assets, it is the second largest financial center in the country. Modern banking giants Bank of America and First Union (Wachovia) call the city home. Of the 75,646 employees working in the finance and insurance sector, 46,331 are employed in commercial banking.
Charlotte’s largest major industry is education, health and social services. This sector accounts for 15.8% of the workforce. The second highest industry workforce can be found in the finance, insurance, real estate, and rental and leasing industry with 14.7%. Professional, scientific and technical services rank third with 11.8%. Finally, the retail trade industry holds the number four position with 10.8%.
Charlotte ranks fifth nationally in the number of Fortune 500 headquartered companies. Currently, 286 Fortune 500 companies maintain operations in Charlotte. The city and its surrounding suburbs serve as world headquarters for Bank of America, Wachovia, Duke Energy, Sonic Automotive, Nucor, SPX Corporation, Goodrich Corporation, Lowes, and Family Dollar.
Thinking about starting your own business? Starting that business in Charlotte would definitely put you in good company. The city was named by Entrepreneur magazine as one of the nation's best large cities for entrepreneurs to start and run a small business. Of the 24,341 companies with operations in Charlotte, 22,509 employ fewer than 50 workers and 1,721 employ between 50 and 500 workers.