Press Releases

Today, North Carolina Secretary of Commerce Tony Copeland announced that Pryor Gibson will serve as the Assistant Secretary for the Division of Employment Security (DES). He assumes the role immediately, and will be responsible for the Division’s operations, communication and accountability.

Unix Packaging, a California-based contract manufacturer of branded and private label beverages, will create 226 new jobs in Burke County, Governor Roy Cooper announced today. The company will invest $19 million to locate its first East Coast manufacturing facility in Morganton.

The state’s seasonally adjusted April unemployment rate was 12.2 percent, increasing 7.9 percentage points from March’s revised rate. The national rate increased 10.3 percentage points to 14.7 percent.

Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Company has been awarded a Job Maintenance and Capital Development Fund (JMAC) grant to support the relocation of its foundry operation from Mecklenburg County to Stanly County.

More information about the people applying for unemployment insurance benefits in North Carolina in March was published today by the North Carolina Department of Commerce.  The new data regarding claims for benefits include details about the applicants’ demographics, the industries impacted,

Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) increased in 97 of North Carolina’s counties in March, decreased in two, and remained unchanged in one. Hyde County had the highest unemployment rate at 13.1 percent, while Buncombe, Alexander, and Orange Counties each had the lowest at 3.4 percent.

Moog, Inc. (NYSE: MOG.A), a New York-based advanced technology company, will create 12 new jobs in Cherokee County, Commerce Secretary Anthony M. Copeland announced today. The company will invest more than $2.3 million to expand its manufacturing facility in Murphy.

Utah-based Focus Services LLC, a global innovator in customer contact solutions, will create up to 200 jobs at a new operations center in Tarboro, Commerce Secretary Anthony M. Copeland announced today.

The state’s seasonally adjusted March unemployment rate was 4.4 percent, increasing 0.8 of a percentage point from February’s revised rate. The national rate increased 0.9 of a percentage point to 4.4 percent.

The North Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA) approved 17 grant requests to local governments totaling $6,570,274, N.C. Commerce Secretary Anthony M. Copeland announced today. The requests include commitments to create a total of 377 jobs.