The 19 hottest hiring sectors in Charlotte

The latest unemployment numbers out last week showed that the Charlotte area's post-recession recovery is still gaining strength.  But many people are still out there looking for work. If you want to understand which sectors are doing the most hiring, this analysis by Economic Model Specialists Inc., an arm of the Careerbuilder job search firm, breaks down which industries are adding jobs the fastest. One noteworthy nugget: the much-discussed resurgence of Charlotte's (high-tech) manufacturing sector shows up on this list, with the Queen City ranking 9th out of the 50 biggest metropolitan areas nationally in percent growth in manufacturing since 2010.

The top 10 job sectors driving Charlotte's economy

The CareerBuilder job search Website and its subsidiary, Economic Modeling Specialists International, have come up with a fascinating interactive map and database that pops the hood on regional economies and pinpoints the job sectors that are key drivers for each area.

Click on Charlotte on the map and you'll find the Queen City's key drivers (and their percentage job growth since 2010) are:

• Management of companies and enterprises -- 2%
• Depository credit intermediation (banking) -- 5%
• Management, scientific and technical consulting services -- 22%
• Nondepository credit intermediation -- 15%
• Scheduled air transportation -- 17%
• Data processing, hosting and related services -- 14%
• Other financial investment activities -- 20%
• Spectator sports -- 37%
• Wired telecommunications carriers -- 31%
• Engine, turbine and power transmission equipment manufacturing -- 75%

It's an interesting mix of "we already knew that" jobs (financial sector)  and "say what?" jobs (spectator sports? Did two more professional sports teams move to Charlotte?). The one that jumps out at me -- other than that -- is engine, turbine and power transmission manufacturing, whose 2,477 jobs for 2013 represents a 75 percent increase over 2010. With $100,000 average salaries, you can see where this is a very encouraging sign -- and one that local officials and economic developers need to be pushing as much as possible.