Charlotte North Carolina

US Cities With the Fastest Growing Job Markets Austin, San Jose, Houston, Charlotte and Nashville led the United States in job growth last year, according to an analysis of the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics by Aaron Renn.  Even hard-hit...

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What's happening in the Charlotte NC real estate market this week? Just when you think it's time for leisurely Charlotte house hunting, you realize you've got to step it up in order to win the bid on that perfect home for you!

How is the Charlotte NC luxury real estate market doing in historic Myers Park?

As his company moves to Charlotte, CEO Fernando Aguirre is trying to reshape Chiquita Brands into something more than a purveyor of bananas, an iconic but low-margin fruit.

On Monday, during an interview with the Observer, Aguirre said Chiquita is expanding its brand into new products. The company last week reported an $11 million quarterly loss, as the price of bananas – which make up a large share of Chiquita’s revenue – slumped.

Chiquita is moving forward with its relocation to Charlotte and has hired more than 100 people locally. The company is planning to transfer about 160 employees, mostly from Cincinnati, and hire about 150 more in Charlotte to bring the total workforce to more than 400.

Free Charlotte events from Monday, May 7th, 2012, through Sunday, May 13th, 2012 in honor of Mother's Day.

Companies are growing more upbeat about the U.S. economy this year and plan to take on more workers as demand improves, a survey showed.

Some 78 percent of businesses, the most in a year, project the world’s largest economy will expand more than 2 percent in 2012, according to the National Association for Business Economics’ April survey released today in Washington. The share is up from 65 percent in the group’s January report.
 
Job seekers in New York on April 12, 2012. Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg
About four in 10 firms, the most since July 2011, said they expect employment to pick up in the next six months, showing businesses are looking beyond higher oil prices and Europe’s debt crisis. At the same time, 66 percent said they expect no change in prices in the next three months, indicating Federal Reserve policy makers will have room to keep interest rates low to nurture the almost three-year-old expansion.

Hiring is back in a big way on many college campuses, one of several signs a recovery in the U.S. jobs market is gaining traction.

Sean Chua expected the hunt for his first job after college to be tough. After all, he watched his brother struggle to find a position when he graduated back in 2008. But his fears were unwarranted. The 21-year-old justice major at American University sent out only seven resumes before getting an offer earlier this month from IBM [IBM 208.65 0.38 (+0.18%) ] for an IT consulting job, making him a beneficiary of a turnaround in the labor market for U.S. graduates. "My mom's first position was with IBM so she is particularly proud," says Chua.

Get up, go out and go play in the region's many outdoor escapes.  

Boredom doesn’t stand a chance in Charlotte. The city takes full advantage of its sunny weather and natural beauty with a host of outdoor recreational opportunities. With an extensive park and greenway system, nearby lakes and mountains, and the largest manmade whitewater river in the world, the biggest challenge is trying to decide what to do first.

Today, the Business Innovation & Growth Council (BIG) announced the results of the first ever BIG Entrepreneurial Growth Index, led by Terry Cox, CEO of BIG, and David Jones, CEO of Peak 10, a longtime member and advisor to BIG.

The study, supported by quantitative data gathered from 94 high growth companies in the Charlotte, NC region, examined the growth history and investment profile of the area’s startup and entrepreneurial business community to uncover the high growth market size in Charlotte and what their impact on the community actually is.

“Based upon the survey results, we believe the high growth entrepreneurial economy accounts for more than one billion dollars in revenue within our region,” says Cox. “Beyond significant revenue, they contribute to job growth, healthy payrolls, and the potential to continue helping the economy grow in coming decades. It also confirms there is little involvement from institutional investors in area business.”

Jones adds, “As a long-time entrepreneur, this validates my belief that there is a significant, unsung population of vibrant growth companies here that typically get little recognition for the jobs and investment they make in the region. Numbers speak louder than words.”

*Key study findings include:

· A 25-30% average revenue growth rate over each of the last three years.

· A projected total of $650 million in revenue for 2012 with a growth rate of 30% over 2011.

· A 25% growth rate in employment with projected 622 new jobs in 2012 for the reporting companies in total

· An average of 30 employees per company over the last three years, with an average weighted salary of $55,000 per year

· Funding sources for businesses in the survey were as follows:

o 1% Venture Capital

o 12% Private Equity

o 22% Angel Investment

o 20% Bank Financing

o 45% Self Funded

· Fifty percent (50%) of the companies reporting are less than five years old; 80% are less than ten years old.

BBB "Secure Your ID" Day - Free Shredding!

Date and Time: Saturday, April 21, 2012, from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Three locations:

Charlotte Mecklenburg Library - 5801 Rea Road, Charlotte, NC 28277.
Shred-It - 3421 Axar Road Charlotte NC 28208
Third location - to be announced.

Bring up to four large boxes or bags of personal documents to be shredded on-site at no cost.

Special thanks to our partners - Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Dept., Shred-It, and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Consumer Fraud Task Force.