Blog Entry List

In this edition of NC Economy Watch, we take stock of the economic recovery in Western North Carolina following the impact of Hurricane Helene. The region’s economic recovery began in earnest in November 2024 and has shown signs of progress with each passing month. However, as more data come in, we are learning that the economic impact of Helene was larger than initially estimated, and so far, by several measures, counties affected by the storm have experienced an incomplete economic recovery.

When you hear about job growth or job losses in the news, do you wonder where those numbers come from? The Current Employment Statistics (CES) program, a federal-state cooperative program, is administered by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in partnership with state agencies like North Carolina's Department of Commerce Labor & Economic Analysis Division (LEAD). The CES represents the gold standard for reporting timely changes in employment levels in the United States.

So, you have spent four years debating supply and demand curves, plotting the Phillips curve, and maybe even survived a game theory final or two, and now you’re wondering: what’s next? If you’re an Economics graduate in North Carolina, the latest NC TOWER data sheds light on what that next step might look like.

For years, women have been outpacing men in earning college degrees across every level of higher education. But as we turn the page into the 2020’s, the dynamics are showing signs of shifting. The latest data from North Carolina’s public post-secondary schools paints a complex picture still favoring women, but with some nuances that suggest the future may not be as linear as the past.

North Carolina’s housing stock reflects broader trends driving the state’s development, including demographic and economic forces that have transformed the state over the past several decades. What can the age of housing and the percentage of mobile homes reveal about the state?

In September 2024, Hurricane Helene carved a devastating path across the Southeastern United States, leaving an indelible mark on Western North Carolina's economic landscape. The storm caused estimated damage within North Carolina reaching up to $59.6 billion, establishing it as one of the costliest hurricanes in recent history. With the release of Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) data for the second quarter following the storm, we now have a clearer picture of how industry employment has been affected across the hardest-hit areas.

College majors aren't just academic choices as they often set the stage for lifelong income differences. By following traditional gender paths into fields like education or engineering, students may unknowingly reinforce the gender pay gap before their careers even begin.

Every June, thousands of North Carolina high schoolers toss their graduation caps into the sky and step into the unknown. But where do they actually land? We dug into the data of more than 950,000 students who graduated from NC public schools between 2014 and 2023 to find out. Thanks to the NC TOWER which tracks employment and higher education outcomes, we can follow the journeys of about 92% of these grads through jobs and colleges both in and out of state.

The latest gross domestic product (GDP) data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis reveals key sectors to the state’s economy.

Our recent The LEAD Feed article introduced the issue and examined the factors contributing to a more complex labor market for recent graduates compared to previous years. Using data from NC TOWER, the article showed that the class of 2023 experienced a somewhat unexpected decline in first-year post-college wages.

In this edition of NC Economy Watch, we examine the challenges faced by recent college graduates in North Carolina. While college remains a worthwhile investment for most students, recent college graduates are confronting a more difficult labor market than in previous years as they navigate technological change and the ups-and-downs of the post-COVID economy.

In previous articles, we explored household incomes and wages and the degree of differences in counties across North Carolina, housing costs, growth rates, and rental vs homewowner burden. Today, we explore housing values and burden at the county level to identity regional disparities across the state.

Upon completion of a recent article reviewing housing values across the state, we discovered that inflation adjusted median housing values increased in 77% of North Carolina’s counties since 2014. This made us wonder if rental costs would follow the same pattern.

As the discussion about rising home prices continues, we wanted to provide an update on an article published in 2022 looking at the ACS 5-year Median Home Values and how home values were keeping pace with inflation across the state.

Our recent LEAD Feed article showed that home prices grew substantially in North Carolina and the nation during the pandemic. This article examines data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Home Ownership Affordability Monitor (HOAM) to understand how homeownership affordability for current homebuyers has changed since 2019.