Topics Related to Labor Market

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.

Women in North Carolina are earning postsecondary degrees at higher rates than men, yet a significant earnings gap persists. This analysis explores how education, earnings, and field of study intersect to shape gender wage disparities in the state.

How and where Americans work continue to evolve following the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Census Bureau recently published data from the 2023 American Community Survey (ACS), showing North Carolina ranked 11th among the states and District of Columbia in remote work – down from 13th in 2022.

North Carolina's business landscape is undergoing a dramatic demographic shift, with the number of Black and Hispanic business owners surging in recent years according to new data from the US Census Bureau's Annual Business Survey.

A recent blog using Census data showed that in most North Carolina counties, the majority of private-sector workers commute to a different county. This blog narrows in on commuting patterns in western North Carolina as a key factor to understand the road to economic recovery in the aftermath of Helene.

The Census’ latest release of the 2023 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year data and 2022 Longitudinal Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES) allows us to revisit levels of working from home and commuting patterns in North Carolina.

An aging population is transforming North Carolina’s healthcare and workforce needs. In this first blog of a new series on the healthcare workforce, we examine this demographic shift and its impact on the state’s healthcare sector.

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?

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics just released county-level unemployment rate estimates for October 2024. These preliminary data offer a first look at the impact of Hurricane Helene on local labor markets in North Carolina. Buncombe County was the hardest hit by far, with an unemployment rate of 8.8%, while most other counties affected by the storm saw a much smaller labor market impact, or no impact at all.