By Dave Vieser. So how is the regional economic recovery doing? The number of new incorporations is climbing, but concerns remain that small business is running a distant second.

MCINTOSH

“While it’s true that we’ve seen an increase in the number of incorporations and LLCs I’d call it stabilization rather than a full-blown recovery,” said Bob McIntosh of The McIntosh Law Firm in Davidson. “I’m still concerned with the lack of new, solid middle-class jobs in our region,” he said.

The N.C. Secretary of State’s office reports that new corporation filings in Mecklenburg County rose 18 percent to 15,510 last year, from 12,295 in 2013.

Cabarrus and Iredell County experienced smaller increases. Cabarrus’ new incorporations rose 2 percent to 925 last year, from 911 in 2013. In Iredell, there was a minuscule increase, from 1,012 in 2013 to 1,114 last year.

WOLF

Michael Wolf, an economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, says there was “quite a difference” between Main Street businesses and the Fortune 500 companies which have more access to credit.

“But in the last 12 months, they have been reporting increased levels of optimism, hiring more, raising compensation and announcing plans to expand,” Wolf said. “We have seen an acceleration in the overall labor market and that has spilled over into small business.”

McIntosh said people shouldn’t just look at the numbers by themselves. “Taking everything into consideration, I’d have to say our region’s economic future is still not quite as bright as it should be coming out of the recession.”