Charleston Employment and Economic Development

The economic outlook for Charleston continues to be strong based on a very well-balanced financial foundation. Charleston is blessed with a combination of thriving industry, tourism, medical research and development, banking, trucking, real estate and sea trade. This tri-county region (Charleston, Berkley and Dorchester), is home to 670,000 people. Charleston ranks in the top three in states for doing business, business environment, and business climate in a survey conducted this year by consultants. Also, Under30CEO.com (2013) ranked Charleston #3 in Best City for young entrepreneurs. 

Fast Facts:

• 303,000 - Size of Charleston's labor force in the Tri-County area
• 113% Growth in computer science and math fields from 2000-2012
• Top 5 Fastest growing job sectors in Charleston are: Computer and Mathematical, Health Care Practitioners and Technical occupations, Architecture and Engineering, Business and Financial and Personal Care and Service
• 4.9 million visitors in 2012 up 8% over 2011
• Conde Nast voted Charleston No. 1 city in the World in 2012 
• Conde Nast voted Charleston No. 1 destination in the U.S.
• Travel and Leisure voted Charleston No. 1 city in the U.S. and Canada
• USTA voted Charleston "Best Tennis Town"
• Best Hospitals U.S. News and World Report National: Ranked in 2 Specialities 2013-14
• Best Children's Hospitals: Ranked in 3 Specialities 2013-14
• MUSC is #1 hospital in the state and top 25% nationwide for Cancer, Cardiology, Diabetes, Geriatrics, Gynecology, Neurology, Orthopaedics, Pulmonology and Urology.

Technology Job Openings in Charleston area

Some of the areas fastest growing companies are Barling Bay, Level Wing, Select Health of South Carolina, Pegasus Steel, SCRA, Lindbergh & Associates, UEC Electronics, eGroup, and Sabal Homes.

The South Carolina Ports Authority alone bolsters the economy by $45 billion each year, with one of America’s busiest container-cargo facilities, with up to 2,000 ships entering the port each year. There is also a busy service for car-carrying vessels from the BMW plant up state, as well as break-bulk ships and cruise lines. Plans are to deepen Charleston Harbor to accommodate the massive Post-Panamax ships more than 1,000 feet long, which can carry nearly 15,000 twenty-foot containers each.

Tourism is a multi-billion dollar industry in Charleston, which in 2012 was named by Conde-Nast magazine as the number one destination in the entire world. With five-star restaurants, world-class golf courses, pristine beaches and America’s greatest collection of historic buildings, the tourists are not going elsewhere any time soon, and with more and more flights into Charleston International Airport, such as the new direct service to Boston with Jet Blue, the city is more accessible to tourists than ever.

Industry thrives in South Carolina’s tax-friendly and right-to-work environment, and the Boeing Corporation is the latest of a number of major companies to relocate plants here with their 777 Dreamliner facility in North Charleston. Other major contributors to the local economy are Bayer, Bosch, and Westvaco.

With so much to enjoy in Charleston, it brings a demand for goods that have kept the trucking industry a major local player, and a traditionally- strong market in historic and luxury homes has been a big boost for realtors as well as bankers, and occupancy levels in downtown Charleston and Mount Pleasant are surging.

The Medical University of South Carolina has been a major contributor in the fields of cancer research and immunology, and had among its distinguished research professors the late Albert Sabin, who helped save millions of lives in polio research.

The strong economic core helps provide an enviable array of consumer services in the many fine clothiers, restaurants, boutiques and galleries that are also a vibrant aspect of the city’s economy, and downtown areas such as Midtown have boomed in recent years with new stores and shops and a pulsating energy that shows business is good.