Nearly 5 Million Working in NC as Unemployment Rate Drops to 3.8 Percent

RALEIGH – The latest jobs numbers from the N.C. Department of Commerce show nearly 8,000 newly employed North Carolinians over the month of November 2019. That helped push the state’s unemployment rate down two points from the October 2019 level to 3.8 percent. Put another way; 96.2 percent of people in the North Carolina that want a job, have one. Overall, 4,932,389 people are working according to these numbers.

The positive trend brings the unemployment rate back toward recent lows of 3.7 percent in the fall of 2018, after the GOP tax cuts. While the national economic projects influence on the Old North State’s economy, and the national economy has been humming along lately, the longer trend in North Carolina’s steadily improving economy since the depths of the Great Recession can be traced to the tax reducing and jobs friendly policies ushered in by Republican majorities in the state legislature a decade ago.

Doubtless, Governor Roy Cooper, who loves cutting ribbons for special corporate tax breaks despite his campaigning against corporate welfare, will tout and claim these and other strong economic numbers so as to boost his image. It’s an understandable political move, but hardly passes the smell test. Imagine if the likes of Roy Cooper, Nancy Pelosi, and Bernie Sanders had their rathers with respect to policy over the last two, five, or 10 years. The high taxes, the higher spending, the handouts, the Big Government programs, the over-regulation; Does any reasonable person believe these policies would result in the current historic lows in unemployment?

As far North Carolina over the last year, more than 90,000 jobs were added. Most of the increased were concentrated in Leisure & Hospitality (23,600); Trade, Transportation & Utilities (19,900); Education & Health Services (14,100); Professional & Business Services (12,700); and, Financial Activities (8,300). Those increases contrasted with manufacturing and mining/logging leading facing the steepest declines.

If we hope to see the trend carry on, the foundation for such prosperity must be reinforced. That means low taxes, limited government, pro-business, constitutional government so that the people of North Carolina, and the nation, can do what we do best.

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