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Triad Jobs and Employment
One of the main reasons why people move to a new city or state is because of a job transfer or because they want to pursue a new employment opportunity. The good news is that the Triad is considered to be among one of the best places for employment.
“High Point and its region are an attractive place for people seeking jobs,” said Loren Hill, president of the High Point Economic Development Corp. “Nearly 3,100 jobs were created or announced in High Point in 2007. That compares to 2,610 jobs in 2006; 2,388 in 2005; and 1,300 jobs in 2004. That 3,100-figure for 2007 does not include the 300 jobs announced by HondaJet—a project of the City of High Point/High Point Economic Development Corp. that is located just outside the High Point city limits, on the grounds of Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTIA).”
In Greensboro, more than 1,500 new jobs were announced just in 2007, according to the Greensboro Economic Development Alliance’s Web site at www.greensboroeda.com.
The high numbers of jobs created in the Triad are primarily because of two factors. First, many existing business that were already thriving have recently undertaken expansion projects or have opened spin-off locations in the Triad to further increase profits. Second, the Triad has also realized a large number of new companies that have opened here just in the last year, resulting in a major accolade from a prominent nationally known magazine.
“For the second year in a row, Site Selection magazine named the Greensboro/High Point Metropolitan Statistical Area as No. 1 in the nation for attracting new industry, for regions with a population of 200,000 to 1 million,” said Hill.
The Triad is booming with many recent expansion plans and new businesses. For instance, in Winston-Salem, Skybus officials recently expanded its low-cost airline service from the PTIA to eight U.S. destinations, HondaJet is building its world headquarters and production facility at PTIA and is expected to begin production of its HondaJets in 2010, and Hanes Geo Components relocated its headquarters and has a new 500,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in the city.
In Greensboro, the FedEx Mid-Atlantic Air Hub is scheduled to open in 2009 at PTIA, Citi Cards opened a new 175,000-square-foot customer call center, and Lenovo officials announced plans to open an assembly and distribution facility at the Rock Creek Center, according to the Greensboro Economic Development Alliance’s Web site.
In High Point, Aetna’s north High Point operation will expand because Bank of America finalized an exclusive agreement with the healthcare and insurance company to cover the bank’s more than 130,000 employees, which will help create many new jobs. Home Meridian International moved its company headquarters to the city, which created 40 new jobs; and American Dream Rooms relocated its Los Angeles corporate office to High Point, which created approximately 40 new jobs, according to the High Point Economic Development Corp.’s Web site at www.high-point.net/edc.
The Triad’s amazingly diversified industry sectors, which now include manufacturing, technology, biotechnology, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, home furnishings/furniture manufacturing, and financial institutions, are helping to boost the number of quality jobs in the region.
“Having such a wide range of industry sectors protects a community from a downturn in any one sector, while providing a wide-range of job opportunities for its citizens,” said Hill.
Just in Winston-Salem, officials are noticing a shift from the manufacturing sector to more service-oriented industries. In fact, the service sector has surpassed manufacturing, accounting for 35 percent of the workforce; whereas manufacturing accounts for 16 percent of the workforce, according to the Winston-Salem Business Inc. Web site at www.wsbusinessinc.com.
It’s really no wonder why so many companies are flocking to Triad: it offers an exceptional quality of life for employees, it’s centrally located in the state and near major roadways, and companies can draw from the region’s skilled pool of local workers, thanks to its abundance of outstanding colleges and universities.
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