Wilting plants: North Carolina is bleeding manufacturing jobs, but many of its service providers are still hiring.

• Author: Maley, Frank
• Position: Largest Employers

The worst might be over--emphasis on might. Real personal income and monthly employment nationwide often grew during 2002, the National Bureau of Economic Research reports, but hiccups in both have kept the bureau from declaring the recession finished. In North Carolina, the employment picture seems murkier. The state sometimes gained jobs from month to month last year but ended October down 1% from the October before.

An increasing share of the jobs are in government or the service sector. Employment grew in both sectors from October to October, while Tar Heel manufacturers shed 2.5% of their jobs. So it's probably no surprise that most of the state's 10 largest private employers are services. Megaretailer Wal-Mart, which took over the top spot last year from food retailer Delhaize America, stayed on top this year, adding nearly 4,000 jobs. They were followed by two banks, Wachovia and Bank of America. Only one manufacturer, computer maker IBM, made the top five.

Though still a major employer, IBM cut about 1,000 jobs statewide in 2002, most of them in the Triangle. Statewide, the net loss of manufacturing jobs totaled more than 17,000 for the 12 months ending in October. This year's top 50 employers had 6% fewer people on their payrolls than last year.

Manufacturing job losses were spread throughout the state. Southeastern North Carolina lost about 900 jobs when drug maker Abbott Laboratories closed a plant in Laurinburg in June. The northwestern part of the state lost about 750 jobs when glove maker Ansell Golden Needles closed its Wilkesboro plant and moved production to Mexico in February. The southwest lost 623 jobs in August when RES Ecusta closed its cigarette-paper plant in Pisgah Forest ("Pulp Friction," October 2002). Brown & Williamson closed a tobacco factory in Wilson, throwing 510 out of work in March.

Much of North Carolina's decline has come in sectors that took big hits early in the recession, including textile, apparel and furniture making, says Peter Neenan, director of labor market information for the Employment Security Commission. Its jobless rate soared higher than other states but by late 2002 had leveled off at around 6%. "A year ago, or even as late as this past spring, we had the third-highest unemployment rate in the country. We now are seeing many other states that are beginning to reach our level and surpass that."

NORTH CAROLINA'S LARGEST FOR-PROFIT EMPLOYERS 2003 2002 Rank Rank Company Headquarters 1 1...