Topics Related to Policy

The 2025 County Development Tiers went into effect on January 1, with a relatively large number of counties shifting tier from 2024. In total, eighteen counties changed tier in 2025. This blog will review the Tiers and highlight this year’s changes.

Industry 4.0 is reshaping North Carolina's manufacturing landscape, and with it, the role of economic developers across the state. As highlighted in the recent "Best Practices for Growing Manufacturing in North Carolina" report, our approach to fostering industrial growth and competitiveness must continue to evolve to maintain our position as a global manufacturing leader.

North Carolina is gearing up for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which will integrate advanced technologies like robotics, the internet of things, and data analytics into manufacturing operations. This seismic shift, as outlined in "Best Practices for Growing Manufacturing in North Carolina," will profoundly impact workforce development professionals across the state.

North Carolina is preparing for the next industrial revolution driven by advanced "Industry 4.0" technologies like robotics, automation, and data analytics. A new report from the NC Department of Commerce and NC State’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership, "Best Practices for Growing Manufacturing in North Carolina," outlines some major implications this shift will have for the state's manufacturing workforce.

North Carolina has successfully positioned itself as a global leader in manufacturing. But as revealed in a new report from the NC Department of Commerce and NC State’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), Best Practices for Growing Manufacturing in North Carolina, maintaining that edge in the Fourth Industrial Revolution is not without its challenges. Implementing cutting-edge "Industry 4.0" technologies like robotics, the internet of things (IoT), and data analytics won't be easy for employers.

A new report from the NC Department of Commerce and NC State’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), Best Practices for Growing Manufacturing in North Carolina, lays out a critical vision for North Carolina's manufacturing sector to embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution driven by technologies like robotics, AI and data analytics. Supporting this technological transformation should be an economic imperative.

What happens to people after they leave our state’s prison system? How many find employment after prison? How much money do they earn? And how do these outcomes vary by race? The North Carolina Reentry Outcome Reporting System (NC-RORS) can answer all these questions and more. This article uses data from this new interactive tool to shed light on the employment outcomes of formerly incarcerated individuals.