Taking a look at the state of North Carolina’s labor market :: WRAL.com

3.75 A GALLON. FAYETTEVILLE IS 3.46. AND RALEIGH. THE AVERAGE IS 3.55. >> NORTH CAROLINA’S ECONOMY IS TAKING ANOTHER MAJOR HIT AS ANOTHER FIRM BACKED OUT OF A DEAL TO BRING ITS HEADQUARTERS TO THE STATE HEALTH CARE COMPANIES. 17 IS CANCELING PLANS TO BILLION DOLLARS AND BRING 3200 JOBS TO AN EAST COAST HUB IN CHARLOTTE. THE COMPANY CITED THE SHIFT EMPLOYEES WORKING REMOTELY AS PLAYING A KEY ROLE IN THAT DECISION. THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT WILL CONTINUE, HOWEVER, WITH THE PROPER TO THE FUTURE OF THAT PROPERTY IS GOING TO BE. IT’S NOT CLEAR THIS IS THE 5TH PROJECT CANCELLATION THIS YEAR, INCLUDING ROBIN HOOD AND MICROSOFT. DESPITE THOSE CHANGES, MANY PROJECTS AND THOUSANDS OF JOBS ARE STILL ON TRACK. MANY BIG FIRMS IN THE AIR. YOU’RE LOOKING TO FILL THOUSANDS OF JOBS IN THIS REASON. WRAL TECH WIRE PUBLISHED A LIST OF THEM TODAY. FIDELITY INVESTMENTS IS LOOKING TO HIRE MORE THAN 500 PEOPLE. LENOVO HAS MORE THAN 300 JOB OPENINGS AND GOOGLE IS LOOKING TO FILL MORE THAN 200. IN ADDITION, A BIOTECH COMPANY IS EXPANDING ITS WILSON FACILITY AND ADDING MORE THAN 200 JOBS BACK INCORPORATED MAKES A SOLUTION USED BY PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES FOR VACCINES. GENE THERAPY AND OTHER THINGS. GOVERNOR COOPER ANNOUNCED TODAY THE FIRM WILL INVEST 11 MILLION DOLLARS IN THE CITY OF WILSON THESE ARE JUST A FEW POSTINGS WE’VE SEEN NORTH CAROLINA’S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE REMAINS LOW AT 3.4%. WHILE THE NATION’S IS 3.5%. JOINING US NOW TO TALK ABOUT OUR STATE’S LABOR MARKET IS NC STATE PROFESSOR AND ECONOMISTS DOCTOR MICHAEL WALDEN, TALK TO ALL THE MANY PEOPLE THINK WE’RE HEADING TOWARD A RECESSION. BUT TALK TO US ABOUT THE CURRENT LABOR MARKET, NORTH CAROLINA, WHICH DOESN’T SEEM TO BE SLOWING DOWN AT ALL. >> WELL, FIRST, THANKS FOR ENDING THE PROGRAM THIS IS A VERY, VERY UNUSUAL ECONOMY. I’VE BEEN IN THIS BUSINESS NOW ALMOST 5 DECADES HAD NEVER SEEN AN ECONOMY LIKE THIS. YES, WE HAVE FEARS OF RECESSION PRIMARILY BASED ON THE FEDERAL RESERVE RAISING INTEREST RATES, WHICH IS WHAT THEY DO WHEN THEY WANT TO SLOW DOWN INFLATION YEAH, WE WE CREATED OVER HALF A MILLION JOBS NATIONALLY LAST MONTH. WE 30,000 HERE IN NORTH CAROLINA, WHICH IS A GOOD NUMBER LAST MONTH. WE HAVE LOTS OF COMPANIES THAT THAT CAN’T FIND PEOPLE TO HIRE. WE HAVE TWICE AS MANY VACANCIES AND THERE ARE UNEMPLOYED. PEOPLE SAID THIS IS JUST A VERY, VERY TOUGH ECONOMY TO RAID. I WOULD TAKE A LOT FROM THE BIG COMPANIES THAT ARE PULLING BACK ON SOME OF THEIR INVESTMENTS HERE WE’RE DEALING WITH, I THINK A VERY, VERY IMPORTANT SHIFT IN THE ECONOMY BASED PRIMARILY ON REMOTE WORK. AND I THINK BUSINESSES ARE TRYING TO EVALUATE THAT AND REALLY COME TO A CONCLUSION ON HOW OFFICE SPACE TO THEY REALLY NEED. >> WHICH FIELD YOU FINDING THE MOST AVAILABLE JOBS, WHICH INDUSTRY IN NORTH CAROLINA. >> WELL, LEISURE IS LEADING IN TERMS OF HIRING BECAUSE THEY WERE JUST SLAMMED AS EVERYONE KNOWS DURING THE PANDEMIC THEY’VE BEEN STRUGGLING TO FIND PEOPLE THEIR WAGER LEVELS ARE LOW. THEY RAISE RATE WAGES ACTUALLY TWICE AS FAST AS THE AVERAGE WAGE RATE OVER THE LAST YEAR. BUT WE’VE SEEN THAT NOT THOSE NUMBERS GO UP NOW, LEISURE HOSPITALITY. SO I’D SAY THAT’S THE THAT’S THE ONE THAT IS MOVING AHEAD. MOST ROBUST LANE OVER THE LAST YEAR. TECHNOLOGY, TECHNOLOGY, JOBS GREW BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS TO THE FACT THAT WE REALLY ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY DURING THE PANDEMIC THAT HAS SLOWED DOWN. I THINK AS THEIR CONCERNS ABOUT WHERE THE ECONOMY IS SLOWING. >> WELL, IF YOU NOTICE LAYOFFS INCREASING OVER ANY SPECIFIC FIELD AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT BECAUSE I KNOW COMPANIES WILL LAY OFF EMPLOYEES FOR DIFFERENT REASONS. >> YEAH, WE ALWAYS HAVE LAYOFFS EVEN IN THE BEST ECONOMY. BUT I THINK WE SHOULD BE CONCERNED. WE ARE WATCHING VERY CLOSELY THE LABOR MARKET. THAT’S REALLY THE LAST PIECE. I THINK THAT MEANS TO TURN SOUR AND ORDERED US TO HAVE A BONA FIDE RECESSION BUSINESSES ARE STILL TRYING TO BUY A WAY WHERE THE ECONOMY IS GOING AND THERE ARE SOME LAYOFFS OCCURRING WE’RE SEEING IT’S A SOMEONE RETAIL. WE’VE SEEN SOME MANUFACTURING. A PART OF THAT IS HERE. THE SHIFT IN MANUFACTURING MORE TECHNOLOGY MOVING WAY, FOR EXAMPLE, TO AWAY INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE CARS, ELECTRIC CARS. SO WE WE HAVE A COMBINATION HERE OF LAYOFFS DUE TO THE FACT THAT THERE’S A CHAIR SHIPS IN THE ECONOMY, BUT ALSO THE FACT A LOT OF FACT THAT A LOT OF BUSINESSES ARE BEING VERY CAUTIOUS ABOUT PUTTING THEMSELVES IN POSITION TO POTENTIALLY WEATHER A RECESSION. >> ALL RIGHT, DOCTOR MICHAEL WALDEN, AS ALWAYS, WE LOVE TO HAVE YOU ON THE PROGRAM.