Press Releases

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.

Sixty nine percent of businesses responding to an ongoing survey of North Carolina businesses report they either met or exceeded their revenue expectations in the month of January, according to preliminary results from the state’s Business Pulse Survey.  Looking ahead, forty six percent of b

The North Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA) has approved ten grant requests to local governments totaling $2,119,529, Governor Roy Cooper announced today. The requests include commitments to create a total of 349 jobs, 289 of which were previously announced.

BestCo LLC, a leading manufacturer of innovative over-the-counter pharmaceutical, vitamin, and supplement products will significantly expand its facilities in Iredell County, creating 394 jobs, Governor Roy Cooper announced today.