Economy of Sao Jose dos Campos

High and positive economy indicators show that this municipality has a great share in the state and in the country's economy.

In 2004, the municipality had the eleventh Gross Domestic Product on national terms and the third GDP within the State. It was the second exporter only to the city of São Paulo (revenues of USD 4.7 billion) in 2004.

Its estimated per capita income value, in nominal terms, was US$ 10,715 (far higher than the national average or even São Paulo's).

Discussions about how to diversify the activities in the city have been held. Around 66.6% of the local economy still comes from the manufacturing sector. Many economists, such as Roberto Koga, consider the city still heavily dependent on few sectors, especially the aerospace and defense industry.

Despite these arguments, the city was appoínted as the 3rd best employer among Brazilian non-capital cities by magazine Você S/A, published in July 2005

Agriculture

The municipality cultivates different crops: rice, tomato, potatoes, orange and many vegetables; cattle are raised for beef and milk supply. There are also farms for production of eggs and chicken.

Industry

Embraer Aircraft: the third largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, the company is headquartered at São José dos Campos

In contrast to the rural town in 1950s, today São José is an important manufacturing center and holds a large array of industries. Over 1251 industries are in the municipality and nearby 47,000 inhabitants work for industries