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North Carolina's wages outpaced national inflation in 2025, with the average weekly wage rising faster than consumer prices. Employment also grew faster than the national rate, with most sectors adding jobs over the year. This post, the first in a two-part series on North Carolina's 2025 Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) data, draws on the newly released federal-state QCEW program, a partnership between the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and state labor market information entities.

Over the past several years, Computer Science has been a field associated with strong demand and high wages, yet the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) and broader changes in the technology labor market have introduced new uncertainties about the field’s future. Using data from the Common Follow-up System (CFS), this article examines two decades of Computer Science graduates from UNC System schools to better understand how changing employment and wage patterns may inform the outlook for these graduates.

In this edition of NC Economy Watch, we assess employment conditions in North Carolina’s manufacturing sector. The sector has struggled in recent decades, and those struggles persist to the present day, but manufacturers entered 2026 signaling increased optimism, and while job growth in the sector remains sluggish, the future of manufacturing is likely to be anything but stagnant.

The 2026 UNC System Workforce Alignment Report identified Psychology as a discipline where projected workforce demand is poised to exceed the future supply of graduates. Using data from the Common Follow-up System (CFS), this article explores two decades of trends in graduation patterns, graduate school enrollment, and employment outcomes for Psychology majors across UNC System institutions.

A gradual but persistent labor market slowdown has made life increasingly difficult for jobseekers across North Carolina and nationwide. This slowdown has hampered efforts to extend job opportunities to populations on the margins of the labor force, including individuals who face barriers to gainful employment after exiting prison. This article uses recently updated data from the North Carolina Reentry Outcome Reporting System (NC-RORS) to show how the current labor market situation has impacted the employment outcomes of formerly incarcerated people in our state.

Findings from the recently completed 2026 Employer Needs Survey show North Carolina’s businesses are having an easier time hiring entry-level workers compared to previous years. About one-third of employers who tried to hire in the previous 12 months reported any difficulty, the lowest level of difficulty since we first began asking about entry-level positions. These findings, collected from employers with at least 10 employees during the Winter of 2025/2026, shed light on a labor market characterized by low levels of hiring as well as firing.

North Carolina faces a growing need for engineering talent as highlighted in the 2026 UNC System Workforce Alignment Report. To better understand trends in this field, this article draws on data from the Common Follow-up System (CFS) to examine two decades of data on Engineering bachelor’s degree recipients from UNC System institutions.

North Carolina gained more than 310,000 workers from other states than it lost since 2001, measured by interstate job switching — workers who left a stable job elsewhere and landed one in NC, or vice versa. That advantage held in 2024, when the state attracted over 17,000 more workers than it lost.

North Carolina's Labor and Economic Analysis Division (LEAD) has released the 2026 Star Jobs ratings, which provide a simple, user-friendly way to assess career opportunities across the state. Using a 1-to-5 scale based on wages, projected growth, demand, and education/skill requirements, the ratings help identify occupations with stronger long-term potential. The 2026 ratings show good career opportunities exist in every region of the state, with higher ratings in occupations requiring postsecondary education.

When we examine our state’s workforce programs, one theme consistently emerges: the most effective programs by far are the ones that allow trainees to “earn while they learn”. These work-based learning programs, including apprenticeships, paid work experience, and on-the-job training, are designed to bridge the gap between education and employment by allowing individuals to gain hands-on experience while developing in-demand skills. This article outlines the case for work-based learning, showing how these programs address critical needs in our labor market and may be particularly beneficial