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Housing costs rose sharply during the pandemic. Now, many more residents find themselves spending a larger portion of their income on rent or mortgage payments. To better understand housing affordability in North Carolina, this article explores housing cost burden for both homeowners and renters from 2010 to 2023, how cost burden has evolved, and which households are most impacted.

The North Carolina housing market has experienced remarkable transformations over the past two decades. Using data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Home Price Index and the Zillow Observed Renter Index, this analysis explores how home prices and rents have evolved in North Carolina compared to national trends and examines underlying factors like housing supply and mortgage rates.

The Labor & Economic Analysis Division (LEAD) recently released the 2032 Regional Long Term Industry Projections for North Carolina. As reported in the summary of the 2032 Statewide Long Term Employment Projections earlier this year, over 500,000 new jobs are expected to be added to the North Carolina economy between 2022 and 2032, representing a percentage change of 10% . However, these trends vary significantly by region and industry.

The Labor and Economic Analysis recently released the 2032 Regional Employment Projections for nearly 140 industries and 840 occupations. These projections estimate future workforce demand based on historical employment trends and a range of economic factors and offer valuable insights for shaping education and workforce planning in North Carolina.

Last year, we published two articles examining the employment outcomes of older jobseekers in North Carolina’s labor market. This year, in recognition of Reentry Month, we take a closer look at what happens to older individuals after they leave prison in North Carolina.

As the 15th largest export state in the U.S., North Carolina plays a significant role in international trade. From 2019 to 2024, the state’s trade activity gradually recovered from pandemic disruptions and experienced solid overall growth. Unsurprisingly, exports declined sharply in 2020, falling 14%. However, levels steadily rebounded, with exports exceeding pre-pandemic levels by 7% by 2024.

Employer demand for healthcare workers soared after the COVID-19 recession, with job openings peaking in 2022-2023 before moderating throughout 2024. Despite easing labor market conditions, healthcare employers still struggle with hiring challenges, ranging from having too few applicants to having candidates with insufficient work experience. In this second installment of a series on the healthcare workforce, we explore the healthcare labor market from the perspective of employers.

Toward the end of 2024, there were about 82,600 federal employees in North Carolina, accounting for 2% of the state’s total employment. Using the latest available data, we map out where federal employment is concentrated across the state.

In this edition of NC Economy Watch, we examine the employment data revisions just released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. These revised data show job growth slowing and job gains narrowing, with the Education & Health Services and Government sectors accounting for 97% of our state’s net job growth in 2024. Meanwhile, revised data also show that the Asheville metro area had more economic momentum going into Hurricane Helene than initially estimated, a hopeful sign for the region’s post-hurricane employment recovery.

In July 2023, The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released updates to the country’s Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) definitions. North Carolina saw several changes that are reflective of the dynamic nature of our state's population and economic growth and tell an interesting story about the evolving landscape of urban development across the State.