Thursday, January 5, 2012

Wells Fargo: Charlotte should see stronger job growth in 2012

After a year of high unemployment and job losses, Charlotte's economy is poised for "much stronger job and personal income growth" in 2012, according to a report issued today by Wells Fargo economists.

The report states that Charlotte is likely to add jobs at a higher-than-average pace, buoyed by recent announcements from companies like Chiquita, Electrolux, Husqvarna, Time Warner Cable and Capgemini. Wells Fargo cites a "young and highly educated workforce" as an advantage.

"The relocation and expansion activities over the next few months combined with the Democratic National Convention in the latter part of the year should ensure that the Queen City will begin a more rapid and sustained recovery in the year ahead," the report says.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

the dem convention will supply us with many shovel ready jobs.

mainly hiring people to kick out the occupiers, homeless, and the dirty cabs.

Anonymous said...

This is great news for the QC! Hopefully it will help stabilize the housing market and get the general economy heading in the right direction. I was unemployed for 6 months before landing a much better job than I had before, so the city definitely has opportunities opening up!

Anonymous said...

"After a year of high unemployment and job losses..."

I think it was nearly 5 years of job losses but who's counting?

Chiquita better bring in more than just bananas.

Anonymous said...

The jobs obviously won't come from the banking sector.

Anonymous said...

@Anonymous 2:07pm - you are incorrect, BofA may not be hiring, but Wells, TIAA-CREF, and others most certainly are.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous at 2:24 pm said...WHAT? are you crazy? What Wells isn't telling folks...there is one final "catch-up" conversion (legacy Wachovia to Wells) scheduled for Feb, 2012. Then they will be starting the process of SUNSETTING 95% of the IT applications that supported legacy Wachovia. By April or May of this year...unemployment will SPIKE/rise again...LOTS OF IT folks will be losing their jobs....get your facts straight...

Anonymous said...

Actually Anonymous@2:46, my FACTS are straight - I don't doubt your assertion about post-merger attrition/displacement at Wells, but I also know for a fact that they are currently hiring everyday, as is CREF, etc. All you have to do is check out the job postings on their career site as well as ask around - I know several people that have recently been hired with both financial institutions.

Anonymous said...

MORE malarkey.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous@2:51 pm...when you consider the amount/number of folks losing their jobs from the merger...they could hire EVERYDAY for the next year..and still not re-coup the number of folks they let go. I know LOTS of folks that are losing their jobs....Wachovia was "light years" ahead of WF technology-wise - but WF is sooooo conservative it will take YEARS to get back up to speed...

These folks you know that recently got hired...were they contractors or full time? I'm betting contractors...

Anonymous said...

Contractors make very good money, usually at a premium to their wages as FTEs and most firms that place them offer benefits.

If you keep looking for dark clouds, though, I'm sure that's what you'll find.

Anonymous said...

you are right...contractors make EXCELLENT money...BUT, WF has a rule...no more than 18 months as a contractor..then you are out the door for 6 months.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous @3:06 - everyone I know to be recently hired have been hired into permanent, full time positions, none are contractors (granted none are in IT, but IT is only one area in the financial industry).

Anonymous said...

"If you keep looking for dark clouds, though, I'm sure that's what you'll find."

Well said anon @ 3:16!

Draco said...

Wells Fargo will only look to hire people who have been laid off FIRST...
The point is...no new jobs in the financial industry. Alot of talent was lost when Charlotte Financial Industries employes lost their jobs since 2008. The Financial Industry will never get that talent back...never.Something called EXPERIENCE...

Anonymous said...

Despite Kommisar Berserk Ka-Blammo's best attempts to destroy the United States, the business community he loathes refuses to cave in.

The pure banking community has retracted severely ... but a surprising number of excellent positions In the financial sector - most certainly locally and very likely nationally - are needed.

You just won't get them by applying to banks, especially if you're experienced (have too high of a salary history) or are past your prime, age-wise.

What are these jobs? For projects. Projects where banks are reluctant to hire someone for less than a year, only to be faced with re-training / re-locating them or ... letting them go and taking the unemployment penalty hit.

Then where *are* these jobs, you ask?

With "contractors". Suppliers of warm bodies. Firms that have a pool or contact list of experienced Charlotte financial employees who have fallen off the full-time employment "radar" but are fully capable and willing (or need) work.

Lotsa "temp" work out there - many 6-figure positions! - unless your security blanket in life requires you have a full-time, 9-5 job with a fancy title.

For people who say they've been unemployed from the financial community in Charlotte for any length of time ... sorry, but it appears you never knew about such "lifeboat" positions from your friends and former collegues.

Good luck. Good luck?

Anonymous said...

Well, I hope the Wells economist is better at forecasting the economy than the Wachovia economist who told
Wachovia employees, about a year before the bottom fell out, that he was concerned about overly leveraged credit card debt. Nary a mention of the mortgage/real estate bust that was soon to come--and put an end to Wachovia as we knew it. What say you, Mark?

Anonymous said...

By shovel ready jobs....did you mean shoveling donkey poop or the BS coming out of Obama's mouth.

Anonymous said...

The Wachovia/Wells Fargo economists were the same ones which said there was no housing bubble in 2007. No need to say anymore.