Feeling Stronger Every Day – Recent NC Economic Performance
FAST FACTS
- NC recent annual job growth is at 2.2%, outpacing the national average.
- The fastest job growth is in Construction, Financial Services, and Professional and Business Services.
- Manufacturing growth in North Carolina is twice as fast as the national average.
- Both North Carolina’s business rankings and economic performance get high marks in 2015.
North Carolina’s economy continues to heal from the job losses and economic turmoil of the great recession. In March of 2010, North Carolina’s unemployment peaked at 11.3 percent. Three years ago the rate remained stubbornly high at 9 percent but has improved steadily over the past 36 months to currently stand at 5.7 percent.
In the last year we have seen another sign of economic improvement. Throughout 2015, the state’s unemployment rate hovered between 5.9 percent and 5.3 percent as the number of people in the labor force rose by more than 135,000 and the number employed rose by over 113,000. More people working should ripple through the state economy with increased income and retail sales. Home building and economic output should also continue to rebound. Read more.