Labor Market Insights

Know Charlotte: 2021 Quarter 2 Growth Report

The Charlotte Regional Business Alliance has published its latest Growth Report for 2021 Quarter 2. Although Croixstone Consulting serves clients across the United States, we remain exceptionally invested in the economic growth of the Charlotte Region where our firm is based.

Following are our 5 key takeaways from the latest Growth Report.

COVID Job Losses: The Charlotte Region has 43,700 fewer jobs than pre-pandemic (-3.1%), outperforming the nation (-4.4%).

Job Gains: June 2021 showed the most jobs gained since October 2020 (and more than 2x any previous month in 2021).

Economic Development Projects: 30 economic development projects were announced in Q2, the highest of any quarter since the CLT Alliance created the Growth Report in 2019.

Capital Investments: These 30 projects represent $1.2B in capital investments (the 3rd highest amount in the history of the Growth Report).

Labor Market: The Charlotte Region is experiencing the lowest ratio of job seekers to job openings since at least 2006.

Read the 2021 Quarter 2 Growth Report here.

So How Is The Labor Market Looking?

Given our connectivity with middle market and large corporations across the greater Charlotte region, the Croixstone team is asked this question almost every day.

Our answer? It’s simple.
The story varies greatly based on education level attained.

As of May 2020, the unemployment rate for those with a Bachelors degree or higher was significantly lower than the 15.0% rate for high school graduates with no college degree:

Bachelors Degree: 8.4%
Masters Degree: 5.6%
Professional Degree: 5.9%
Doctoral Degree: 3.5%

Keep in mind that economists have long believed that the overall economy is at “full employment” at a rate of around 5%.

Based on our understanding of these rates and ongoing discussions with c-suite leaders, the Croixstone team believes ample career opportunities continue to exist for highly-educated professionals in today’s workforce.

That said, the market is certainly more competitive in 2020 than the past several years. For that reason, professionals in career transition mode are wise to focus on their personal branding and professional networking strategies to ensure a competitive edge.