Press Releases

Raleigh, N.C. – North Carolina Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders issued a statement today, following Fidelity Investments’ announcement of its Invest in My Education (ME)℠ initiative:

Felicia Culbreath-Setzer, NCWorks Regional Operations Director for the Northwest Prosperity Zone at the North Carolina Department of Commerce, was honored today as the recipient of the 

Governor Roy Cooper announced 28,690 new jobs in North Carolina in 2022, representing 182 business recruitment, expansion or rural development projects that engaged with the North Carolina Department of Commerce or its team at the Economic Development Partnership of N.C.

After a historic year for job announcements and investments, North Carolina has been named the “State of the Year” for economic development by Business Facilities magazine.

Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) decreased in 92 of North Carolina’s counties in November, increased in four, and remained unchanged in four. Edgecombe County had the highest unemployment rate at 7.3 percent while Buncombe and Orange Counties each had the lowest at 3.0 percent.

Today, North Carolina Secretary of Commerce Machelle Baker Sanders announced that M. Antwon Keith will serve as the acting Assistant Secretary for the Division of Employment Security (DES).

The North Carolina Department of Commerce awarded 30 Community Development Block Grant - Neighborhood Revitalization (CDBG-NR) fund requests to 27 local governments totaling $42.3 million.

The state’s seasonally adjusted November 2022 unemployment rate was 3.9 percent, increasing 0.1 of a percentage point from October’s revised rate. The national rate remained unchanged at 3.7 percent.

Nelipak Corporation (d/b/a Nelipak Healthcare Packaging), a leading global healthcare packaging manufacturer, will initially invest at least $11.8 million to establish a flexible packaging production site in Winston-Salem, announced Governor Roy Cooper.

Governor Roy Cooper announced today that 42 local governments in rural areas across the state have been awarded grants from the Rural Transformation Grant Fund, supporting rural economic development projects in North Carolina.