Shifts in advanced manufacturing, life sciences/health, financial services, transportation/logistics and warehousing, and innovation economy are regional strengths that are contributing to the growing economic and industry-based business landscape in the region. Employment and innovation in these industries serve as foundations for the regional economy and demographics patterns and are crucial to demonstrate overall competitive advantage.
Historic and future projections indicate transportation and warehousing (80%), financial services (57%), and professional and technical services (47%) recorded strong growth and are expected to be steady by 2025 and throughout this year. Growth in health/life sciences and manufacturing remains below 30%. Various reasons account for declines in manufacturing including supply chain shortages and geopolitical risks in previous years. The workforce in health care declined and the industry is expected to experience further shortages in 2025 due to an aging population and workforce, wage disparities, and low enrollment of future generations of physicians, nurses, and other essential workers. However, transportation and warehousing exploded throughout the pandemic with the emergence of e-commerce and fast product supply to customers. Financial services and professional services capitalized on technology to offer AI-driven financial support resources, remote work, and new technologies.
Current and new policies are expected to drive emerging industry clusters, strengthen regional workforce development, and create new opportunities for talent across industries, mainly manufacturing, health/life sciences and technical services. For instance, The CHIPS and Science Act and the Infrastructure and Jobs Act are generating a diverse manufacturing market with a transformative outlook in clean energy, semiconductors, batteries, electric vehicles, and overall industrial technology. The region has emerged as a destination in clean energy investment with 1,700 jobs and $2.3B capital investment announced since 2021. The fast-evolving sector includes companies in EV, EV battery, lithium, and related technologies.
Financial services and health/life sciences sectors are no stranger to innovation and continue to integrate the latest technologies and technical services into customer and patient care while contributing to the entrepreneurial ecosystem. More changes in the life sciences sector are underway with the Wake Forest School of Medicine set to open this year as part of the innovation district. The fintech and health tech sectors benefit from the CLT Region’s strength in financial and health care services. Companies within the region have raised $2.5 billion and $36 million in both sectors, respectively.
Population and workforce growth remain invaluable determinants of economic growth in the region. Population is expected to increase by 6.1% by 2027 as more people move to the region. Workforce availability is represented by 1.5 million people employed in Fortune 1000 companies and small businesses. For the past five years, employment growth rate outpaced the nation by 5.1%. Within the same period, the labor force participation grew from 63.6% to 64.8%. Unemployment remains at 3.2%, lower than the national average (3.7%). Like the rest of the nation, the labor market is still struggling with inflation characterized by layoffs, fewer job postings, and low purchasing power. All industries, in the chart above, are expected to grow slightly by 2% in 2025, except for manufacturing (1%).
