Offering mountains in the West, the ocean in the East and some of America’s most innovative and exciting job markets, North Carolina employment opportunities come with some terrific perks. The state is incredibly diverse in ecologies and geography for a state its size, and whether you want to hike in Appalachia, surf in the Atlantic or see the rolling and verdant fields so typical of the Deep South, you can find it here. Agriculture, tourism, research and banking are just a few of the Tar Heel State’s signature industries, and it has long been an industrial powerhouse. Here’s what you need to know about North Carolina employment and living.
North Carolina unemployment
North Carolina unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) increased from October 2008 to October 2009 by 4% to a rate of 11%
[Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics]
North Carolina Employment Opportunities
When considering North Carolina employment in agriculture one crop has been central for 300 years: tobacco. The US’ top producer of tobacco, the state’s economy has long been tied to the plant. Concerns over the risk of smoking and threatened elimination of tobacco subsides have led the state’s agriculture to diversify. A person seeking out North Carolina employment openings in agriculture is as likely to find them on a hog farm as they are on a tobacco farm nowadays. A number of vineyards as well as a booming organic foodstuff farms have popped up in recent years as well.
The state is also a major center of manufacturing and industrial production. North Carolina employment health has waned along with other industrial centers of the country in recent decades, but the state is still one of America’s major industrial capitals. North Carolina still has more textile jobs than any other US state, and is also known for its furniture manufacturing. These jobs have become harder to find, and the communities which depended on them have struggled to survive as jobs went to Latin America and China. Overall the state has a higher unemployment rate than the US as a whole—just over 11%. Still, North Carolina employment in general maintains a blue collar tinge, and has suffered less than many other industrial states.
Making up for its losses in manufacturing, North Carolina has emerged as the country’s premier research center. The Research Triangle connects three college towns—Durham (home to the top tier Duke University), Raleigh (home of North Carolina State University) and Chapel Hill (home to the University of North Carolina)—and has attracted hundreds of major research and high tech firms from around the world. In the 1950s the sprawling Research Triangle Park was opened. Now boasting over 170 of the world’s most respected scientific and industrial research firms and high tech companies, thousands of the country’s brightest minds make North Carolina employment a heady matter.
Tourism is also a major industry in the state—it is one of the top ten most visited states in the country, and nearly 200,000 North Carolinians are employed by the tourist sector. Charlotte, the largest city, is also the nation’s second largest financial center (after New York), home to the largest bank in the country—Bank of America. North Carolina employment is about making people feel at home, and feel secure about their financial future.
North Carolina Employment Resources
Several online tools and public resources are available for those seeking a job in the Tar Heel State. Perhaps the first place to look is the North Carolina Employment Security Commission. This agency really lives up to the confidence and power in its name. The agency handles the state’s unemployment insurance program, but also boasts a number of resources for those looking for work. Their website, at NCESC.com, enables users to register an account which they can then use to post resumes, search jobs and apply for training and assistance programs. The agency has also gotten work of late administering federal stimulus money appropriated to the state. The North Carolina Employment Security Commission is a tremendous resource for residents and potential residents of the state.
North Carolina employment policy has resulted in a unique and useful website at JobsNow.NC.gov. The site offers resources for those seeking work, seeking training or a new career, starting a new business or moving a business to North Carolina, as well as connections to financing for small businesses and government contracts. North Carolina employment also benefits from a large public sector, and the state’s Office of State Personnel has a website at OSP.State.NC.US/jobs/. Some of the best paying and safest jobs are available here.
North Carolina Living Conditions
The Tar Heel State is so attractive and full of fun that it is one of the most visited states in the Union—North Carolina employment is like a vacation every day. The climate is mild—on the coast hurricanes are occasional threats, but are still rare. In the mountains it can be cold and snowy in the winter, but generally the state’s climate is mild (with hot summers in the central area known as the Piedmont). The temperate summers along the coast and in the mountains are one of the big reasons for the state’s tourism business.
Taxes are actually higher in North Carolina than other states in its immediate region, and slightly higher than the national average. Unions are less powerful here than in other major industrial states up in the Midwest, but are more powerful than in other Southern states. This means that the cost of living in North Carolina evens out near the national median. The state’s housing market has faced similar blows as other parts of the country, but lacking the most irrational excesses of many other places, the state is recovering quickly.
North Carolina employment should be particularly sought by the outdoors types—with 14 national parks and forests, the state’s natural treasures are well preserved and breathtaking.
North Carolina Employment
Whether you come for the mountains or for the beaches, whether you work as a farm hand on a hog plantation or a researcher for one of the world’s most advanced technical firms, North Carolina employment is all about diversity. Check out the Tar Heel State today, and you’ll see why this state’s residents seem so smart and content.
