Press Releases

Governor Josh Stein announced today that Walmart, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) plans to open a new fulfillment center in Kings Mountain. The estimated $300 million investment will create more than 300 new jobs in Gaston County. The 1.2 million–square-foot facility, located at 799 Sara Lee Access Road, is expected to open in 2027.

In the 12 months since Hurricane Helene damaged Western North Carolina, Governor Josh Stein’s Commerce Department has launched a new division to put $1.4 billion of federal recovery dollars to work, accepted more than 3,400 applications from homeowners seeking recovery help, encouraged tourists to return to the mountains, and paid more than $96 million in disaster-related unemployment insurance benefits to people in need. These key milestones in the state’s ongoing recovery efforts reaffirm North Carolina’s commitment to help families, workers, and businesses rebuild stronger than ever.

The state’s seasonally adjusted August 2025 unemployment rate was 3.7 percent, unchanged from July’s revised rate. The national rate increased 0.1 of a percentage point to 4.3 percent.North Carolina’s unemployment rate was unchanged from a year ago. The number of people employed decreased 2,394 over the month to 5,088,201 and decreased 3,168 over the year. The number of people unemployed decreased 142 over the month to 194,915 and increased 722 over the year.

Addressing a well-known gap that many innovative companies face, today the North Carolina Board of Science, Technology & Innovation announced its latest round of funding to small businesses developing and commercializing new technologies in North Carolina.

The North Carolina Caregiving Workforce Strategic Leadership

Today in Wilmington, Governor Stein joined small business owners and members of North Carolina’s TV and film industry to announce that three television-streaming series and four independent feature-length films have been approved for North Carolina Film and Entertainment Grants. The productions, estimated to create more than 3,800 jobs in total, are expected to spend more than $131.6 million in locations across the state.

A new certification program from the North Carolina Department of Commerce aimed at strengthening small businesses through destination development strategies has named its first cohort to carry the designation Certified North Carolina Destination Business. The statewide initiative, launched through Commerce’s Main Street & Rural Planning Center in its Rural Economic Development Division, offers small businesses the tools and resources to be stronger, more resilient businesses that are better able to weather economic uncertainty.

Visitor spending increased for 71 of North Carolina’s 100 counties in 2024, contributing to a statewide record total of $36.7 billion in visitor spending, according to county-level data released today by the N.C. Department of Commerce. The preliminary findings from an annual study commissioned by Visit NC, a unit of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina reflect the economic impact of tourism on local economies across the state.

Renew NC, North Carolina’s long-term disaster recovery effort, today finished making storm-related repairs to the first home approved for assistance through the Renew NC Single-Family Housing Program (SFHP). Renew NC is funded by a federal Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) decreased in 75 counties in July 2025, increased in 11, and remained unchanged in 14. Edgecombe County had the highest unemployment rate at 5.8 percent while Currituck County had the lowest at 2.7 percent. Fourteen of the state’s metro areas experienced rate decreases and one remained unchanged. Among the metro areas, Rocky Mount had the highest rate at 5.3 percent while Raleigh had the lowest at 3.2 percent. The not seasonally adjusted statewide rate was 3.8 percent.