Charleston SC employment opportunities are found among a diverse group of tourism industries, transportation services, healthcare, military installations and manufacturing. The Charleston South Carolina metro area has experienced a growth rate of 11% in the population in recent years. A few of the Large Employers include Bayer, Dupont, Amoco, ALCOA, State Ports Authority, US Coast Guard, Us Army, Bell South, Charleston Place Hotel, Coastal Council, City of Charleston, SCE&G, Santee Cooper, LINQ Industries, Kiawah Island Resort, Inter-Tech Group, Post & Courier, US Postal Service, Titan Systems Corp, SPAWAR, Piggy Wiggly Distribution and coming soon Sam's Club Food Distribution Center.

Tourism and travel to Greater Charleston is big business. An estimated 4.1 million visitors bring over $4.5 billion to the local economy each year. Major attractions include the well-preserved historic sites, world-class beaches, beautiful coastal scenery, great dining, and fabulous shopping. The votes are in and, once again, readers of the Conde Nast Traveler, the top travel magazine in America, have selected Charleston as a TOP 10 destination for domestic travel. It scores right up there with San Francisco, New Orleans and Santa Fe. Cities are ranked according to environment and ambiance, people and friendliness, cultural enrichment, restaurants and fun and energy.

A clean industry that improves quality of life for residents, tourism will continue to grow in volume and in importance to Charleston's economy. Many new hotels/motels have recently opened or are under construction throughout the Charleston area. The Port of Charleston is the fourth busiest container port in the United States, handling 25% of all containers from Norfolk to Miami. More than $33 billion in cargo moves between Charleston and 150 countries around the world annually.