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Women’s History Month has its roots in various “Women’s History Week” celebrations dating back to the late 1970s. The commemoration was often anchored to the March 8th observance of International Women’s Day. As support for the celebration grew, Congress ultimately passed a resolution recognizing March 7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week”. In 1987, this event was expanded to the entire month in perpetuity. An annual Presidential Proclamation is now issued every March to recognize the…
“How can we prepare today to create enough good jobs for tomorrow?” was the question posed by NC State’s Institute for Emerging Issues during their summer FutureWork Prosperity Tour. This tour—and the preceding FutureWork conference—focused on the combined impacts of anticipated technological change and demographic shifts. Today’s post highlights some of the projected impacts of demographic change on the state’s workforce. Projected employment growth will exceed working age population growth. Between 2012 and 2022, North…
The number of individuals who reported working from home has increased steadily over the past 35 years. In 1980, fewer than 50,000 North Carolinians reported working at home. Twenty years later, this number had more than doubled, with just over 100,000 individuals working at home in 2000. The number of teleworkers increased sharply in 2006. Since 2012, more than 200,000 North Carolina workers reported working at home each year. In the past, the majority of…
On average, Wake County added 63 new residents every day between April 1, 2010, and July 1, 2014, according to U.S. Census Bureau population estimates. Both natural increase, more births than deaths, and net migration, more people moving in than moving out, are important for Wake’s population growth, but the main driver is net migration. Every year since 1970, net migration into Wake County has accounted for the majority of its population growth. Since 2010, two-thirds of…
At Carolina Demography, we don’t just answer questions about basic demographics. We also regularly field questions from individuals and organizations about economic data availability, usage, and interpretation. We discussed demographic data resources in this post; here’s our guide to key data resources for information about the economic well-being of North Carolina residents and labor force details. Small Area Income & Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) SAIPE are produced annually for school districts, counties, and states. The main…
North Carolina had nearly 9 times as many textile machine operators than would be expected based on national averages, according to recent analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data by the Pew Charitable Trusts. Georgia had more than 10 times as many textile machine operators than would be expected. In these two Southern states, the relatively high concentration of these jobs—as compared to national averages—reflects historical economic patterns that persist today. Nationwide, just over 75,000…
In the mid- to late-1800s, four out of every five North Carolina workers was employed in agriculture. Although agriculture and agricultural products remain vital to the state's economy, agricultural employment declined steadily through the late 20th century. At the same time, manufacturing emerged as a dominant employment sector, officially surpassing agriculture as the leading employment sector in North Carolina in 1950. Manufacturing employment in the state was at its highest between 1970 and 1980, and…
Population in North Carolina, like the nation, and countries around the world, is increasingly clustered in urban areas. Half of the state’s population resides in 13 counties—all of which are within major metropolitan areas. In contrast, just 10% of North Carolina residents live in the 42 least populated counties in the state. As population shifts toward urban areas, these counties hold a steadily declining share of North Carolina residents. In 1920, nearly one in four…
The Labor & Economic Analysis Division (LEAD) at the North Carolina Department of Commerce has a new blog, the LEAD Feed, devoted to helping individuals and organizations better understand the workforce and economic development in our state. Launched in mid-September, the blog has averaged 2 to 3 posts per week across a diverse range of topics, such as the potential impact of Russia’s ban on U.S. pork on North Carolina’s exports and the impact of…
In 1880, 14% of U.S. workers were employed in manufacturing; in North Carolina, 4% were (most were working on farms). Employment in manufacturing grew steadily in both the nation and the state through mid-twentieth century. By 1930, 22% of North Carolina workers were employed in manufacturing, matching the national rate. National employment in manufacturing peaked in 1960 (27%) and subsequently declined. Since 1940, North Carolina’s share of employees in the manufacturing industry has been higher…
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