Topics Related to Economic Trend

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.

Recent data indicate that North Carolina has experienced a significant decline in poverty over the past decade. This analysis examines changes in the state's poverty rate from 2013 to 2023 and highlights county-level differences in poverty levels.

In this edition of NC Economy Watch, we highlight three of the big questions we’ll be asking as 2025 gets underway: will Asheville’s labor market recover from Hurricane Helene? Will labor market conditions improve for jobseekers across the state? And will we see any more relief on interest rates?

In this edition of NC Economy Watch, we describe some of the unusual developments we’ve seen in the housing market over the past several years. Our economy has absorbed a rapid increase in interest rates without experiencing a housing crash, but while a resilient housing market has helped us avert another recession, high interest rates and rising home values have also priced out many potential homebuyers.

LEAD has surveyed businesses across North Carolina every two years since 2014 on behalf of the state’s NCWorks Commission, with a particular emphasis on hiring challenges, recruitment and retention, and other business needs. Although fewer businesses reported hiring difficulties than in the previous survey, many employers still struggle with finding the talent they need.

In this edition of NC Economy Watch, we show how our economy is running on “two tracks”, with many households and businesses experiencing the benefits of an expanding economy while others are coming under increasing pressure from high prices, high interest rates, and a weakening labor market.

In this edition of NC Economy Watch, we analyze trends in North Carolina’s labor force participation rate. Labor force participation has been trending downward in North Carolina and nationwide for decades, driven primarily by shifting demographics. While the participation rate for younger workers in North Carolina has increased in recent years, the overall statewide labor force participation rate is likely to continue declining because our population is getting older, and older people are more likely to be retired.

Explore the potential impact of artificial intelligence on North Carolina's business practices through our analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. This blog examines AI adoption rates, applications, and employment trends, offering insights into AI's potential effects on industry and workforce needs.

Across the United States, a persistent surge in business applications has been a surprising feature of the COVID-era economy. Has this upswing in entrepreneurial activity been evident in North Carolina as well? This article explores the U.S. Census Bureau’s Business Formation Statistics (BFS) data to describe the trend in application activity across North Carolina and its counties.