All in Business

Governor Cooper Honors Achievements in Workforce Development

Governor Roy Cooper announced that an innovative manufacturer, a virtual internship initiative, and four individual North Carolinians have won NCWorks Awards of Distinction for outstanding accomplishments and contributions related to workforce development. The recipients were recognized during the 34th annual NCWorks Partnership Conference, organized by the N.C. Department of Commerce and held this year in a virtual format.

Governor Cooper joins health care leaders to discuss pandemic’s impact on the Hispanic/Latinx community, signs executive order to extend Hispanic/Latino Advisory Council

Governor Roy Cooper held a roundtable discussion to hear from health care and community leaders about the impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the Hispanic/Latinx communities and thank them for their dedication. The Governor also signed an Executive Order to extend the Governor’s Advisory Council on Hispanic/Latino Affairs.

Labor force shouldn’t be shrinking

North Carolina’s economy has enjoyed a substantial recovery from the depths of the Great Suppression — that is, from the COVID-19 downturn of 2020. Most businesses are back up and operating. So are schools and universities. More employees than ever before are working from home. That’s had positive consequences for worker satisfaction and traffic congestion (although the consequences for productivity are admittedly unclear). State government is flush with revenue. North Carolina’s headline unemployment rate was just 4.3% in August.

NCDHHS hires first chief health equity officer and launches new office of health equity

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) today announced the hiring of Victor Armstrong as the Department’s first ever Chief Health Equity Officer. NCDHHS created the position as well as the Office of Health Equity to lead its focus to advance health equity and reduce disparities in opportunity and outcomes for historically marginalized populations.

Redistricting public hearings held across the state

The N.C. General Assembly kicked off a month-long series of 13 public redistricting hearings held across the state. State legislative and congressional districts are redrawn every ten years using new data from the U.S. Census report. This year, the data was delayed due to difficulties collecting it during the COVID pandemic. Still, results showed that N.C. has growing by 9.5 percent in the past decade, faster than the national average of 7.4 percent. The results give N.C. a 14th congressional seat.

Trade lifts North Carolina economy

When North Carolinians are free to trade with whomever they choose, be it South Carolinians or South Koreans, some local businesses may lose sales. The case for markets isn’t based on promises of cost-free benefits or perfect outcomes. No such promises could ever be honored in the real world.