NC State Economist Issues Top 10 Economic headlines For 2019 Print
Education
By Donna Martinez   
Friday, 11 January 2019 11:25
By Dr. Michael L. Walden, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor,
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, North Carolina State University
 
TEN NORTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC HEADLINES FOR 2018 AND 2019

 

1. The broadest measure of economic output in North Carolina – real Gross Domestic Product – is on track to increase faster in 2018 than in 2017. However, the state’s 2018 rate is slower than the nation’s rate.
 
2. The Information, Transportation, and Professional Services were the top three expanding economic sectors in the state in 2018.
 
3. Payroll job growth in the state will likely exceed the national job growth rate by over 40% in 2018.
 
4. The three major measures of unemployment all dropped in North Carolina in 2018.
 
5. The broadest measure of unemployment – including discouraged and under-employed workers – ended lower in North Carolina than in the nation in 2018.
 
6. The average wage rate – adjusted for inflation – remained flat in North Carolina in 2018, but the rate declined in the nation.
 
7. All regional groups of North Carolina counties experienced job growth in 2018, with rural counties registering the fastest rate.
 
8. North Carolina’s real Gross Domestic Product is expected to increase 2.5% in 2019, slightly slower than 2018’s rate.
 
9. Close to 85,000 net new payroll jobs are projected to be added in North Carolina in 2019, less than the 100,000 jobs gained in 2018.
 
10. Asheville, Durham, and Raleigh are forecasted to end 2019 with “headline” unemployment rates under 3%.
Last Updated on Friday, 11 January 2019 11:31