Press Releases

The state’s seasonally adjusted August unemployment rate was 6.5 percent, decreasing 2.0 percentage points from July’s revised rate. The national rate decreased 1.8 percentage points to 8.4 percent. North Carolina’s August 2020 unemployment rate increased 2.7 percentage points from a year ago. The number of people employed increased 28,419 over the month to 4,510,574 and decreased 387,558 over the year. The number of people unemployed decreased 100,105 over the month to 315,347 and increased 120,255 over the year.

Five new productions have been approved for North Carolina Film and Entertainment Grants and will start production in the state by the end of October, Governor Roy Cooper announced today.  Combined, these productions are projected to generate a direct in-state spend of more than $107 million while creating 8,671 job opportunities including 650 well-paying crew positions for the state’s highly skilled film professionals.

The United States Golf Association (USGA) plans to create a multi-building research and testing campus in the Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced today. The USGA’s “Golf House Pinehurst” will become the home for the USGA Foundation’s operations and include a visitor center and museum.

In FY 2019-2020, the North Carolina Main Street and Rural Planning Center and its programs supported 1,311 new jobs, 267 new businesses and more than $372 million in local public and private investment, North Carolina Department of Commerce Secretary Anthony M. Copeland announced today. The results were derived from business activity last year (July 1, 2019 -June 30, 2020) in the state’s 64 designated Main Street and 13 designated Small Town Main Street communities.

Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) increased in 99 of North Carolina’s counties in July and remained unchanged in one. Scotland County had the highest unemployment rate at 14.1 percent, while Camden had the lowest at 6.1 percent. All 15 of the state’s metro areas experienced increases. Among the metro areas, Fayetteville had the highest rate at 11.6 percent and New Bern had the lowest at 7.5 percent. The July not seasonally adjusted statewide rate was 8.9 percent.

This week, Governor Roy Cooper announced the State of North Carolina will provide $28 million to local governments and communities in their response to the economic and public health impacts of COVID-19 through the Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) program. The program will be funded through the CARES Act by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to support North Carolina’s ongoing effort to fight COVID-19.

Governor Roy Cooper today announced $175 million to help North Carolinians with rental and utility payment support in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. “COVID-19 has strained family finances across North Carolina, and many people are struggling to make ends meet,” said Governor Cooper. “People need a safe, stable place to call home, especially during this pandemic, and we must help keep people in their homes and keep their utilities on while our economy recovers.”

The state’s seasonally adjusted July unemployment rate was 8.5 percent, increasing 1.0 point from June’s revised rate. The national rate decreased 0.9 of a percentage point to 10.2 percent. North Carolina’s July 2020 unemployment rate increased 4.6 percentage points from a year ago. The number of people employed increased 72,211 over the month to 4,502,345 and decreased 382,495 over the year. The number of people unemployed increased 62,712 over the month to 419,812 and increased 220,318 over the year.

Dansons US, LLC, a global manufacturer of consumer goods, will locate a distribution center in Cumberland County, North Carolina Commerce Secretary Anthony Copeland announced today. The company plans to add up to 118 jobs and invest approximately $27.7 million in Fayetteville.

The North Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA) has approved 18 grant requests to local governments totaling $4,847,243, Governor Roy Cooper announced today. The requests include commitments to create a total of 590 jobs, 296 of which were previously announced. The public investment in these projects will attract more than $103 million in private investment.