by Amanda Harrison, on 5/22/19 1:36 PM
Earlier this year, the North Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NCMEP) published the North Carolina Manufacturing Data Dashboard, which provides a snapshot look at the state’s economy with a deeper focus on manufacturing business performance as compared to the national average.
According to the website, the Dashboard "provides independent and objective data on how North Carolina’s manufacturing sector is performing in eight main areas, and helps leaders focus on a few key metrics most important in measuring the sector’s economic progress and talent needs."
What You Should Know
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth and Unemployment Rates in North Carolina are on par with the rest of the United States.
While the GDP has risen, unemployment has decreased. Which just goes to show that producing quality products not only delights customers, but creates more jobs as well.
NC surges in Research and Development (R&D) and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Employment
According to this dashboard, North Carolina is well above the national average in both R&D and STEM employment. If Atlanta is the East Coast’s answer to Hollywood, could North Carolina be the same to Silicon Valley?
Hourly wages leave something to be desired
Compensation is a driving force in the quality of employees a business can attract. Manufacturing businesses in North Carolina are giving their employees around $4 less than the national average.
Demand for skilled workers remains high
NC needs more workers in the 3 categories reported (Production, Engineering, and Installation/Maintenance/Repair). The chart shows that North Carolina is just slightly above the rest of the country in terms of hours worked per week. Maybe this is an area business leaders can improve upon in order to attract more laborers.
The NCMEP dashboard covers recent trends, designed to track state economic performance and to spark conversations about building a more competitive manufacturing sector.
Check out the dashboard here.
The data and underlying dashboard is managed by The Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC), an independent, 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization founded to provide policy-makers from around the world with the information and technical assistance they need to formulate and execute innovative, regional, job-creating economic strategies.
