Press Releases

North Carolina Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders issued a statement today, following CNBC’s announcement naming North Carolina “America’s Top State for Business” for the second year in a row:

The North Carolina Main Street & Rural Planning Center has selected Mebane and Zebulon as the latest “North Carolina Main Street Communities”, while Thomasville has been selected to participate in the Downtown Associate Community (DAC) program.

Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) increased in 95 of North Carolina’s counties in May 2023 and decreased in five. Scotland County had the highest unemployment rate at 6.3 percent while Buncombe County had the lowest at 2.7 percent. All fifteen of the state’s metro areas experienced rate increases. Among the metro areas, Rocky Mount had the highest rate at 4.8 percent while Asheville had the lowest at 2.8 percent. The not seasonally adjusted statewide rate was 3.4 percent.

North Carolina Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders has named Kristina Ray as the next Administrator of Credit Unions, a role that includes supervision of the North Carolina Credit Union Division.  As Administrator, Ray will lead the regulatory agency in promoting and assisting in the formation of credit unions in the state, as well as ensuring the safety and soundness of credit unions in compliance with applicable laws through yearly examinations.

North Carolina has received Area Development magazine’s 2023 Platinum Shovel Award which recognizes states that went above and beyond the gold standard for investment and job creation. This is the second year in a row the state has received this honor, sharing the inaugural award in 2022 with Tennessee. North Carolina is the only state recognized for the Platinum Shovel award this year.

Two local partnership groups have won grants totaling $450,000 to support innovative efforts addressing workforce challenges, Governor Roy Cooper announced today.The two-year implementation grants come from the NCWorks Local Innovation Fund, which Governor Cooper established as part of his NC Job Ready initiative to prepare North Carolina’s workforce for the jobs of today and tomorrow.

The state’s seasonally adjusted May 2023 unemployment rate was 3.4 percent, remaining unchanged from April’s revised rate. The national rate increased 0.3 of a percentage point to 3.7 percent.North Carolina’s unemployment rate was unchanged from a year ago. The number of people employed increased 20,351 over the month to 5,033,140 and increased 42,690 over the year. The number of people unemployed decreased 3,076 over the month to 175,754 and decreased 1,737 over the year.

North Carolina has received approval for a $7.5 million federal workforce grant to help workers who were affected by the Pactiv Evergreen layoffs in Canton and Waynesville, Governor Roy Cooper has announced. $2.5 million will be made available immediately, and the remainder will be distributed as needed to support workforce development efforts in the weeks and months to come. 

The North Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA) has approved 11 grant requests to local governments totaling $4,478,850, Governor Roy Cooper announced today. The requests include commitments to create a total of 383 jobs, 173 of which were previously announced. The public investment in these projects will attract more than $91 million in private investment.

Governor Roy Cooper announced today that 29 local governments in rural areas across the state have been awarded grants from the Rural Transformation Grant Fund, a robust source of support for rural economic development projects in North Carolina. A total of $8 million will be issued in this third round of grantmaking from the Fund, which helps local governments overcome challenges that limit their economic competitiveness. The North Carolina Department of Commerce and its Rural Economic Development Division administers the fund.