North Carolina
‘New economic reality’: NC consumers face tariff-driven inflation
Rising inflation is starting to show up on North Carolina grocery receipts and in the state’s factories, economists and executives say.
Inflation rose last month to its highest level since February as President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs push up the cost of everything from groceries and clothes to furniture and appliances.
Consumer prices rose 2.7% in June from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Tuesday, up from an annual increase of 2.4% in May. On a monthly basis, prices climbed 0.3% from May to June, after rising just 0.1% the previous month.
The Consumer Price Index tracks the year-over-year changes in the cost of goods and services such as groceries, clothing and medical expenses.
The CPI shows grocery prices are up about 17.2% since January 2022. It means a $100 grocery bill back then would cost about $117 today.
John Coleman, professor at the Duke University Fuqua School of Business, said the trend of higher costs is not going away.
“If you had to make some cutbacks or some adjustments in terms of what you had to buy, what you wanted to buy, you’re going to have to continue to do that for quite some time,” Coleman said. “It’s unfortunate, but that’s just the new economic reality that we’re faced with.”
In the same timeframe, clothing has also gone up about 5.5%.
Medical costs have also increased, government data shows. Physician services are up 4.9%, for instance.
Also, it’s 6.5% more for vehicles since January 2022.
There are many factors contributing to rising costs, including consumer spending habits, supply and demand and, increasingly, tariffs passed along to consumers.
“You are starting to see scattered bits of the tariff inflation regime filter in,” said Eric Winograd, chief economist at asset management firm AllianceBernstein, who added that the cost of long-lasting goods rose last month, compared with a year ago, for the first time in about three years.
Winograd also noted that housing costs, a big inflation driver since the pandemic, have continued to cool, actually holding down broader inflation. The cost of rent rose 3.8% in June compared with a year ago, the smallest yearly increase since late 2021.
The cost of gasoline rose 1% just from May to June, while grocery prices increased 0.3%.
“About three-fourths of firms locally, in the New York area, were intending to pass some of the tariff-related costs onto consumers,” said Keenan Institute of Private Enterprise research economist Sarah Dickerson.
Retailers such as Target, Walmart and Home Depot have said they’ll pass the cost of tariffs onto their shoppers.
Trump has said the goal of the tariffs is to increase American-made manufacturing, but it will take time.
Some items got cheaper last month, including new and used cars, hotel rooms, and airfares. Travel prices have generally declined in recent months as fewer international tourists visit the U.S.
Tariffs already having an effect on NC’s economy
Daimler Truck told state officials last week that the company could temporarily lay off 573 workers at a plant near Charlotte because orders for its trucks are down. The company makes vehicles that companies like UPS use to deliver goods.
Daimler Truck executives said last week that its customers are buying fewer trucks because of uncertainty over economic policy, including tariffs.
The Trump administration has been talking about tariffs for months now. But many of them have been delayed. So far, tariffs don’t seem to have had much impact on the state’s economy.
Daimler’s layoffs could be an indicator that that’s about to change, North Carolina economist Mike Walden said.
“Whenever there’s economic uncertainty, that is not good for business,” said Walden, an N.C. State University professor emeritus.
So far, many businesses have been trying to absorb the costs of tariffs. However, the latest uptick in the inflation rate means some are beginning to pass along those costs to consumers, Walden said.
“Businesses have been trying to not do that, but they have a breaking point,” he said. “I think we’re beginning to see that breaking point.”
It also means companies may decide not to invest in business infrastructure like delivery trucks.
UNC Charlotte economist John Connaughton says a lot of the goods on our roads come from China, either directly or shipped through other countries such as Vietnam and Mexico. He said tariffs are starting to slow the flow of those products.
“One thing’s for absolute certain, and that’s going to be there’s going to be a dramatic shift in the amount of trade that we do with China, and that has been driving to a great extent the trucking industry over the past decade or two,” Connaughton told WRAL in an interview.
Coleman, the Duke professor, said demand for durable goods such as trucks is already down, and the continuing uncertainty about even more tariffs isn’t helping.
“These are things that lead people to have a wait-and-see attitude,” Coleman said. “And the wait-and-see attitude is going to affect people like Daimler in trying to sell trucks. And then it goes down from there. I mean, it’s not just trucks.”
The economists that WRAL News spoke with on Tuesday agreed that North Carolina is likely to weather the economic uncertainty better than a lot of other states because the state is not overly reliant on manufacturing, which is where tariffs are hitting the hardest, and because the state’s economy and labor market continue to be very strong.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Charles Gaddy was tuna fishing with his dad on Sunday, more than 40 miles northeast of Oregon Inlet, when he saw something he’d never seen before.
“I was just looking in the water, seeing if, you know, any birds or anything, and I see this big gray fish with white dots,” said Gaddy. “Just from reading books and watching movies as a kid, I was like, ‘that’s got to be a whale shark.’”
The 18-year-old said they circled it. He grabbed his GoPro camera and started recording.
“It’s just sitting there, swimming beside us. It really, truly was amazing,” said Gaddy.
Whale sharks are the world’s largest fish. They’re currently listed as endangered by the Union for the Conservation of Nature.
In the Western Atlantic, whale sharks are primarily found in the Gulf and throughout the Caribbean, according to Eric Hoffmayer, a research fishing biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service. He said they’ve seen numerous whale sharks make their way up the Gulf Stream, ending up in the New England area in late summer and early fall.
“We had an animal last year that we tagged off Tampa and within a month was off New York, and cruised right past North Carolina about this time of year,” said Hoffmayer. “It’s not unheard of, but it’s not real common either.”
Gaddy recognized how lucky he was to experience a sighting.
“To be able to see one in person, especially locally, it’s very truly amazing,” said Gaddy. “It’s no doubt a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I’m no doubt very blessed.”
If you do encounter a whale shark in the wild, Hoffmayer said, you need to be careful if you’re in a boat because they spend a lot of time at the surface. If you get in the water, keep a safe distance.
“Most people I’ve talked to who have encountered whale sharks, it’s like a life-changing experience,” said Hoffmayer. “It’s really cool to see an animal that large in the wild doing its thing.”
You can report whale shark sightings to the University of Southern Mississippi’s Center for Fisheries Research and Development. If you’re able to capture a good picture of a whale shark, you can see if it matches one already in a database by uploading the photo and information about the sighting online.
OMAHA, Neb. — The championship series is set. And without a doubt, the two hottest teams, North Carolina and Oklahoma, are paired to play for a national title at the College World Series.
There was no backing into the finals for these squads, one that looked like a contender all season and one that did not until two weeks ago.
North Carolina (53-12-1) and Oklahoma (41-22) swept through opposite brackets at Charles Schwab Field. UNC punctuated its three-game run with a 12-7 victory Wednesday against West Virginia. OU followed by defeating Georgia, the regular-season and postseason SEC champ, 11-4.
Iconic brands in college sports, the Tar Heels and Sooners will meet Saturday at 8 p.m. ET in the opening game of a best-of-three series.
North Carolina seeks its first national championship in baseball. It lost in the finals in 2006 and 2007. Oklahoma has won two crowns, most recently in 1994, and it lost in the finals in 2022.
LET’S PLAY FOR A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/588pVssfOR
— Oklahoma Baseball (@OU_Baseball) June 18, 2026
“It really hasn’t set in yet,” said UNC second baseman Gavin Gallaher, who was 4 for 5 on Wednesday with four RBIs. “After the game, we shook hands, and I was just kind of walking around, looking up in the stands, looking at my family, just kind of speechless, to be honest.”
The Tar Heels were seeded fifth in the 64-team field announced on Memorial Day. In Omaha, they have not trailed by more than one run — and for just three innings. North Carolina’s pitching staff, on maximum rest during its stay in Omaha, is set up well for the weekend.
Junior ace starter Jason DeCaro, who worked 6 2/3 innings Friday, enters the championship series in position to start the opener. Star freshman Caden Glauber, who was needed for 2 1/3 innings Wednesday afternoon as WVU mounted a comeback, has thrown only 54 pitches in the CWS. The Tar Heels are 28-0 this year when Glauber appears in a game. He’s won 11 decisions without a loss.
Sixth-year coach Scott Forbes took over in 2021 for Mike Fox, who brought North Carolina to the CWS seven times. Bids for a first national title fell short in 2006 and 2007 against Oregon State in the championship series.
Forbes joined Fox’s staff before that 2006 season as a 31-year-old pitching coach.
“I’m trying not to get emotional,” Forbes said, “just thinking about that team and Coach Fox giving me the opportunity. I wasn’t the popular hire at the time. There were a lot bigger names. I had never been a pitching coach. But Coach Fox saw something in me and gave me that opportunity.”
Oklahoma returns to the championship series for the second time in five years. It lost to Ole Miss in 2022. The Rebels that year were the first team to win a championship with a losing record in conference play.
OU is attempting to become the second.
Coach Skip Johnson’s team finished 14-16 in the SEC and lost four consecutive league series to close the regular season. But the Sooners clawed back in Regional play, winning two elimination games at Georgia Tech, the No. 2 overall seed.
OU swept Kansas in a Super Regional and beat SEC foes Alabama and Georgia before it won the rematch Wednesday night against the Bulldogs.
The Sooners remade their pitching rotation in the postseason to ride three true freshmen: left-hander Cord Rager, a season-long starter, Xander Mercurius and Nick Wesloski. The latter duo had combined to start four games this season before they both beat the Bulldogs, who came to Omaha with the most powerful lineup in college baseball.
Wesloski fired 5 2/3 innings Wednesday and struck out four, one off his career high.
Rager and Mercurius have inspired Wesloski, he said.
“Seeing the way they dominated and they carry themselves,” he said, “those guys are just elite. Watching them go about their process has made me a better pitcher. Those guys look unstoppable, unbeatable. It’s added to my confidence level. They influence me a ton.”
OU got hot at the plate, too. In eliminating Georgia, it homered five times, including two apiece by Jason Walk and Dasan Harris. Before Wednesday, Walk had hit four bombs in 200 at-bats; Harris had four in 137 at-bats.
Twenty-five of Oklahoma’s 90 home runs this year have come in 10 postseason games.
It pays to get hot at the right time.
“You’re looking at a baseball team, a selfless baseball team that’s really fun to be around,” said Johnson, the ninth-year OU coach. “Hopefully, I can just stay out of the way the next two or three games.”
RALEIGH, NC — For years, WRAL Investigates tracked problems with North Carolina’s unemployment benefits system.
Now, two new follow-up audits show the same problems still persist inside the Division of Employment Security (DES) when it comes to paying the correct amount of unemployment and paying those first-time benefits on time.
The first audit deals with improper payments. The category includes fraud, overpayments and underpayments.
From 2021-2025, the auditor found the improper payment rate for unemployment benefits in North Carolina was 22%, most of which were overpayments. That’s more than double the national standard of 10% error rate.
According to the North Carolina Office of the State Auditor (OSA), those payment errors cost taxpayers more than $90 million over the expected 10% error rate.
In fact, the improper payment rate got worse compared to an initial audit’s findings back in 2022, when OSA found errors in 18% of payments.
The second follow-up audit out today dealt with timeliness of benefits, meaning when people finally got paid after filing and qualifying for unemployment.
In 2024- 2025, 28% of first-time unemployment checks were not cut within the 14-day federal standard. While not great, it’s an improvement compared to previous audit findings of 40% late checks in 2022 and 43% of late checks in 2024.
In fact, the auditor’s office noted on-time payments in below the national standard in just 3 of the past 20 years.
The Division of Unemployment Security agreed with the findings and recommendations to improve North Carolina’s unemployment system.
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