The number ten city by total number of jobs added was North Carolina’s capital city, where job growth swelled by 48,900 from 2001-2011, according to an article by G. Scott Thomas in the Triangle Business Journal. Raleigh was fourth in the nation in terms of job growth percentage. The city’s number of jobs expanded by over 13 percent since 2001.
As we emerge from the Great Recession, hindsight reveals there was a place job growth and a more stable economic outlook could be found. That place was the South. Eleven of the 12 cities realizing the largest employment gains during the decade that included the Great Recession were located in the nation’s Sunbelt.
The technology industry certainly had an impact on the capital city’s job growth success. Last fall, Forbes ranked Raleigh fourth on its Best Cities for Technology Jobs list after the city realized a 2.8 percent technology job growth rate for the preceding decade.
Factors contributing to long-term job growth and industry expansion in North Carolina include the state’s favorable business climate, productive workforce, global market access and low cost of doing business. North Carolina earned the top spot as the state with the nation’s most favorable regulatory environment from Forbes in November 2011. According to 2011 workforce economic data, North Carolina’s workers are 36 percent more productive than the national average.
Companies like Li & Fung Limited, based in Hong Kong , and craft beer giant Sierra Nevada set up shop in North Carolina, recognizing the state’s convenient national and international market access. In addition, North Carolina has become a hub for data centers, including facilities operated by Facebook, Google, Apple, EMC and IBM. These techno-giants are taking full advantage of North Carolina’s low energy costs coupled with the state’s mild, stable weather.