8. Charleston, SC Metro: Up 2.6%
Charleston is home to an airforce base that by one estimate is responsible for about 22,000 local jobs. The largest area employers are defense contractors, auto parts manufacturers, biomedical firms, and wind energy equipment makers. Boeing recently opened a new $750 million aircraft manufacturing plant in North Charleston that created 3,800 direct and 11,000 indirect jobs. Charleston experienced the largest growth in manufacturing jobs of any U.S. metro in 2010 and 2011, 14.4 percent, according to a recent Brookings Institution report.
