Ranking North Carolina’s 21st Century Job Growth

North Carolina’s Private Sector Job Losses Among Worst in U.S Since 2000; Adds Third Highest Number of State Government Workers in the Nation

North Carolina’s private sector workforce shrank by 0.8% over the past decade. Only 15 states saw losses at a greater rate. That’s the finding of an analysis which compared total private sector jobs from January 2000 to July 2010. North Carolina is among 18 states experiencing a net loss of private sector jobs since the beginning of 2000.

Even Louisiana, ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in the middle of the decade, experienced better job growth than North Carolina.

Moreover, North Carolina added 37,500 workers to its state-government payroll since January 2000, the third-highest number in the nation behind only behind Texas and California.

Over the last decade, the Tar Heel State swelled its state workforce at a 21.7% rate, the 5th highest rate of increase in the country.

Previous Civitas Institute reports have detailed North Carolina’s perilous trend of growing its state government workforce combined with a shrinking private sector. This analysis, however, puts North Carolina’s trends over the past decade in perspective with that of other states.

North Carolina’s record does not stack up well. In short, as measured from January 2000 to July 2010:

• North Carolina added the third most state workers in the nation, behind only California and Texas
• North Carolina state government expanded its workforce by 27.1%, the 5th highest rate in the country
• Over the same period, North Carolina was one of only 18 states that experienced a net loss of private sector jobs
• Only 15 states have a worse track record of private sector job growth since 2000

The data presented here clearly demonstrate that North Carolina state policy has resulted in an unsustainable economic path. Enlarging state government at the expense of the private, productive sector of the economy is a recipe for high unemployment and stagnant wages.

If elected officials continue the same fiscal policies in Raleigh, North Carolina can expect to see more abysmal job numbers for years to come.

To access a spreadsheet of state government and private sector job numbers for all 50 states for years 2000 and 2010, click here.