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The percentage of young North Carolinians at work or seeking employment has declined substantially over the past 13 years. This article reveals that most of this decline is in fact attributable to higher levels of school enrollment. How should this affect our interpretation of North Carolina's unemployment rate? And what might this mean for the earnings prospects of the state's youngest workers?

We use economic statistics every day in order to gauge the state of the marketplace. However, the reality depicted by many of these data points is obscured by the uncertainty inherent in data estimation. This article focuses on sources of error in the unemployment rate and explains how readers should interpret these data.

The early 21st century has seen increases in the percentage of employed North Carolinians whose working hours vary from week to week. This article digs a little deeper to find out who these workers are and discusses the potential implications for North Carolina’s labor market

It's the most comprehensive data set available for monthly employment and quarterly wages of industries, especially at the local level — which is why you should know about the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program.

Young people in North Carolina tend to find work at the same rate as older job seekers. However, young workers are much less likely to hang onto their jobs than older workers. This article introduces a theoretical model that many labor economists use to explain this disparity, shedding light on how the workforce development system can address a root cause of youth unemployment.

Every year we hear about how big of a player North Carolina is in the national Christmas tree business, but how big of an impact does North Carolina really have?  Turns out it’s a pretty big impact and one North Carolina county leads the way nationally in Christmas tree production.

It is relatively easy to understand labor force trends among the school- and retirement-age populations. But why are we seeing declining labor force participation among persons in their prime working years? This article attempts to explain why fewer workers age 25 to 54 are participating in the labor force.

North Carolina appears to have a mismatch between its unemployed job seekers and the jobs available to them. This article demonstrates how the long-term unemployed are contributing to this “gap” and continuing to weigh on our state’s economic recovery.

As contracted employment has become a larger part of the nation’s economy over the past few years, questions about the industries supplying these jobs have gained some traction. In this post, we’ll take a look at the growth of contract work in North Carolina and the wages these jobs command.