Press Releases

The North Carolina Task Force on Child Care and Early Education, co-chaired by Lieutenant Governor Rachel Hunt and Senator Jim Burgin (R-Harnett), convened today at the State Government Complex in Downtown Raleigh to brief legislators and the public on ways child care access affects our economy. Task Force members led the briefing alongside business community leaders and business executives who participate in ExCEL NC (Executives Championing Early Learning in North Carolina).

Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) decreased in 91 counties in February 2026, increased in five, and remained unchanged in four. Hyde County had the highest unemployment rate at 10.8 percent while Camden County had the lowest at 3.0 percent. All fifteen of the state’s metro areas experienced rate decreases. Among the metro areas, Rocky Mount had the highest rate at 5.3 percent while Raleigh had the lowest at 3.3 percent. The not seasonally adjusted statewide rate was 3.8 percent.

Today Governor Josh Stein visited Davidson-Davie Community College for National Apprenticeship Week and celebrated the college’s work to train North Carolina’s nursing workforce.

The North Carolina Department of Commerce invites local governments, economic development professionals, and all members of the public to review and provide recommendations on a set of candidate areas across the state that could eventually be certified as North Carolina’s new Opportunity Zones.  Governor Josh Stein tapped the Department to solicit broad input regarding which of the qualifying low-income census tracts hold the most potential to attract investment and economic and housing development opportunities for the state.

Today Governor Josh Stein announced AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV), a global biopharmaceutical company, will create 734 jobs in a new pharmaceutical operation in Durham County. The company says it will invest $1.4 billion to build a 185-acre state-of-the-art manufacturing campus in the City of Durham.

The state’s seasonally adjusted February 2026 unemployment rate was 3.8 percent, unchanged from January’s revised rate. The national rate increased 0.1 of a percentage point to 4.4 percent.North Carolina’s unemployment rate was unchanged from a year ago. The number of people employed increased 701 over the month to 5,110,580 and increased 21,711 over the year. The number of people unemployed decreased 2,352 over the month to 201,100 and decreased 244 over the year.

Governor Josh Stein today announced that North Carolina’s Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA) has approved seven grant requests for local governments totaling $1,657,500. The grants include commitments to create a total of 215 jobs, 26 of which were previously announced. As a result of these grants, the additional investment in these projects, from private and public sources, is expected to reach approximately $41 million and create 189 new jobs.

Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) increased in all 100 counties in January 2026. Hyde County had the highest unemployment rate at 10.0 percent while Camden County had the lowest at 3.1 percent. All fifteen of the state’s metro areas experienced rate increases. Among the metro areas, Rocky Mount had the highest rate at 5.7 percent while Raleigh had the lowest at 3.5 percent. The not seasonally adjusted statewide rate was 4.1 percent.

The state’s seasonally adjusted January 2026 unemployment rate was 3.8 percent, unchanged from December’s revised rate. The national rate decreased 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 3,494 over the month to 5,109,781 and increased 19,919 over the year. The number of people unemployed increased 96 over the month to 203,481 and increased 2,876 over the year.

Governor Josh Stein announced today that SMBC Group, one of Japan’s largest financial institutions, will establish its second U.S. headquarters in Charlotte to support its operations, creating 2,000 jobs over the course of six years. The company will invest $50.5 million in Mecklenburg County.Governor Stein met with leaders from the company to recruit them to North Carolina during his business development trip to Tokyo last fall.