Charleston Local Guide

Employment

Charleston has been a shipping and banking center since early in its history. The second building built for banking in the United states was built at Charleston in 1798, and well into the nineteenth century, Charleston remained on of the most important American centers for international currency exchange. While the city’s role in national commerce has shifted, its importance remains.

Charleston’s port is the second largest container port in the United States, so any American corporation that brings much freight in to the country has an office or a shipping agent in Charleston. The largest single employer in Charleston, as of its inception in 2004, is SPAWAR, the U.S. Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command. After that remainder of the top five are, in order, the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston Air Force Base, the Charleston County School District, and Care Alliance Health Services. Other major corporate employers include Westvaco Corporation which makes paper and packaging and lumber, Piggly Wiggly Carolina Co., the Robert Bosch Corporation which makes fuel injection and braking systems, Wal Mart, Interactive Performance Inc., Cummins Engine Divisions and Joint Ventures, Kiawah Island Resort, Nucor Steel, Blackbaud which makes software for educational and non-profit institutions, and Detyer’s Shipyard. Just over 33% of the workforce in Charleston commutes into the city for work..