To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

CHARLOTTE – Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx brought in Gov. Bev Perdue and a host of local business leaders to brainstorm ways to keep and grow jobs in the area.

The two-hour job creation summit touched on a mix of constructive ideas and opinions on what can create and destroy local jobs.

"We've asked those who come to provide us the substance and give us the questions they would like to have answered," Foxx said.

Perdue said jobs won’t grow if the state’s public school system lags behind and doesn’t reverse its dropout rate.

"It's unacceptable in this state to say that out of ten kids in North Carolina who start the ninth grade, that we're going to throw three away," Perdue said.

Foxx said he hoped Friday’s summit won’t end up as empty words, but a jumping off point in reversing the Queen City’s 12 percent unemployment rate.

"When you look at the fundamentals of our community, they are very strong,” Foxx said. “So, we start with a strong foundation."