Press Releases

The Rural Transformation Grant Fund, a new source of support for rural economic development in North Carolina, is now accepting applications from local governments seeking to overcome challenges that limit their economic competitiveness.  The North Carolina Department of Commerce and its Rur

A new list of workforce credentials valued by industry and endorsed by a high-level state working group has been published on North Carolina’s career information portal, NCcareers.org.

Service Offsite Solutions (SOS), a supplier of offsite homebuilding solutions, will create 235 new jobs in a Lee County expansion, Governor Roy Cooper announced today. The company will invest $11.8 million to build a new manufacturing facility in Sanford.

Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) increased in all 100 of North Carolina’s counties in January. Scotland County had the highest unemployment rate at 8.1 percent while Orange County had the lowest at 2.6 percent. All fifteen of the state’s metro areas experienced rate increases.

North Carolina’s economy fully returned to the employment level it enjoyed before the COVID-19 pandemic sent the world into an economic recession, state economists said Monday.

The state’s seasonally adjusted January 2022 unemployment rate was 3.9 percent, decreasing 0.2 of a percentage point from December’s revised rate. The national rate increased 0.1 of a percentage point to 4.0 percent.

North Carolina has received a $4 million federal workforce grant to help workers who lost their jobs due to the tragic December 2021 fire at the QVC distribution facility in Rocky Mount, Governor Roy Cooper has announced.

Thirty-three North Carolina Main Street Champions will be recognized for their commitment to downtown revitalization and strong communities in 2021 during a virtual Recognition Ceremony on today at 9:00 a.m.

Eight communities will receive awards for excellence in downtown revitalization during the North Carolina Main Street Awards Ceremony this evening.

North Carolina was awarded $6.4 million to establish a new tourism-focused economic recovery initiative.