North Carolina strong in job growth, green energy and biotechnology.
CNN Money recently listed the top 25 counties in the U.S. for job growth based on job growth data from 2000-2010. Ranked 15th on the list was Wake County. The North Carolina county, which includes the capital city, Raleigh, as well as Cary, Apex, Wake Forest and Research Triangle Park, saw 35.9 percent job growth over the past decade. Thousands of new jobs have been reported already for 2011.
A sampling of corporations feeding the economy in Wake County includes IBM, GlaxoSmithKline, Cisco Systems, SAS, Bayer Crop Science, Red Hat and CREE. One of the fastest growing sectors is the green industry, with green jobs spiking by 22 percent across North Carolina in 2010. This trend continues in 2011, as relayed by Governor Bev Perdue in a recent video clip that touts four companies creating over 600 green energy jobs in four months. Wake County leads the pack in this sector as well, with 128 green companies.
The Business Facilities 2011 Rankings Report, released July/August 2011, further substantiates North Carolina’s positive growth trends. In this comprehensive ranking report, the state ranked fifth for Biotechnology Strength and tenth for Installed Solar Power Capacity Leaders. In addition, North Carolina ranked third as a Workforce Training Leader.
Read more: CNN Money; Business Facilities