Press Releases

Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) increased in 99 of North Carolina’s counties in June and decreased in one. Scotland County had the highest unemployment rate at 9.4 percent while Orange County had the lowest at 3.7 percent. All fifteen of the state’s metro areas experienced rate increases. Among the metro areas, Rocky Mount had the highest rate at 7.1 percent while Durham-Chapel Hill had the lowest at 4.1 percent. The June not seasonally adjusted statewide rate was 4.9 percent.

Global aluminum beverage packaging company Ball Corporation (NYSE: BLL) will create 220 new jobs in Cabarrus County, Governor Roy Cooper announced today. The company will invest $383.8 million to join Red Bull and Rauch’s beverage manufacturing hub in Concord. "We believed throughout this recruitment that Ball would be the third piece of this historic economic development package and we are delighted it has been confirmed," said Governor Roy Cooper. "We’re excited that there will be even more available good paying jobs in the Cabarrus County area."

Smart Wires Inc., a global power technology company working to advance the delivery of affordable, clean electricity around the world has selected Durham and the Research Triangle region as the site for its global headquarters, creating 250 jobs, Governor Roy Cooper announced today. The company will invest $21.5 million over five years to establish a corporate headquarters and research and development facility in North Carolina.

POLYWOOD, a manufacturer of outdoor furniture made from recycled plastics, will expand its operations in Person County to create 300 jobs over five years, Governor Roy Cooper announced today. The company will invest $61.6 million to build additional capacity at its manufacturing and distribution center in Roxboro.

Glen Raven, Inc., a leading provider of innovative performance textiles with widely recognized brands including Sunbrella® and Dickson®, will create 205 new jobs as it expands its Custom Fabrics operations in Warren County, Governor Roy Cooper announced today. The company will invest up to $82 million in Norlina.

The state’s seasonally adjusted June unemployment rate was 4.6 percent, decreasing 0.2 of a percentage point from May’s revised rate. The national rate increased 0.1 of a percentage point to 5.9 percent. North Carolina’s June 2021 unemployment rate decreased 4.2 percentage points from a year ago. The number of people employed increased 12,600 over the month to 4,769,929 and increased 365,146 over the year. The number of people unemployed decreased 8,422 over the month to 231,636 and decreased 192,329 over the year.

The North Carolina Department of Commerce today released the Economic Development Strategic Plan for the State of North Carolina. The plan, titled First in Talent, recognizes that investing in North Carolina’s workforce is the key to building a more prosperous and resilient economy for all North Carolinians. The comprehensive economic development plan is a four-year plan that identifies three key goals critical to the state’s economic development strategy:

One year after Governor Roy Cooper announced the launch of NCcareers.org, a comprehensive career information system, NCcareers.org has experienced 1.3 million page views with more than 178,300 unique users exploring occupations in North Carolina.

Metal Specialist LLC, a custom metal fabricator, will create 33 new jobs in Duplin County, Governor Roy Cooper announced today. The company will invest more than $2.9 million to build a new headquarters operations and manufacturing facility in the Town of Wallace. “We are excited to announce that Metal Specialist has made the deliberate decision to expand in rural North Carolina," said Governor Cooper. “North Carolina-based companies know that our resilient economy, our great quality of life and our skilled workforce will continue to support their growth trajectory.”

Red Bull and filling company Rauch will partner to build a new beverage manufacturing, filling and distribution center in Cabarrus County, creating more than 400 new jobs, Governor Roy Cooper announced today. The combined project will invest more than $740 million in the City of Concord by 2027.