Topics Related to Labor Market

In this edition of NC Economy Watch, we look at layoff activity in North Carolina. Recent plant closures have rocked local communities and dominated headlines across our state. While these mass layoffs might reflect weakness in parts of the manufacturing sector, they have had only a limited impact on statewide employment statistics and, so far, they do not appear to be signaling a recession.

The second in a series on Manufacturing in North Carolina, this article explores the sector’s economic trends over the last 30 years.

In honor of Women's Equality Day on August 26th, we are examining women’s progress in the labor market. In this brief, we'll look at wage growth from 2019-2022 to see how women have fared in North Carolina compared to men.

Do high starting wages for college graduates correspond to higher earnings over the long term? How might this differ across college majors? As shown in NC TOWER with data from the Common Follow-up System (CFS), this interactive figure compares graduates’ wages across different major areas in the first and tenth years after graduating from the University of North Carolina (UNC) system.

The North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Labor & Economic Analysis Division (LEAD) is happy to note that the May 2022 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data is available across multiple platforms such as our Demand Driven Data Delivery System (D4), the Occupational Wage Lookup Tool, NCWorks.gov, and the BLS Website.

In this edition of NC Economy Watch, we check in on labor market conditions in our state. Fewer workers are quitting their jobs now than during the peak of the so-called “Great Resignation”. While this might suggest conditions are starting to normalize, other evidence shows our labor market remains out of balance, with still too many job openings and not enough jobseekers.

According to data from the US Census Bureau, the share of the US workforce that worked the majority of the week at home rose from 5.7% in 2019 to 17.9% in 2021 – an increase in the number of at-home workers of more than 200%. This article explores the places around the state where remote work has become most common.

LEAD’s next blog in the automation series examines exposure to automation-related employment disruptions at the regional level in North Carolina.

Labor shortages among child care providers and their challenges raising pay limit the number of children facilities can serve. This places pressure on parents and leads some to restrict their labor supply, among other economic impacts. These proposals in Governor Cooper’s budget could help providers increase pay and serve more families.

Find out which workers by age are overrepresented in automation exposed industries.