NC in running for 18 major economic projects, state’s top business recruiter says

Inflation remains a threat. Recession talk is ubiquitous. Labor shortages aren’t abating. Economists expressed plenty of bearish sentiments at the 2023 Economic Forecast Forum, held Friday at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Durham.

But within this caution, one leading voice said North Carolina is positioned to recruit businesses at an unprecedented rate in the new year.

“Heading into 2023, the trend has stayed consistent from what we’ve seen over the past 18 months,” said Christopher Chung, head of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC), a public-private group that works, among other goals, to attract new companies to the state. “We’re continuing to see a large number of what we would call mega-projects.”

Chung said North Carolina is in the running for 18 large projects, which he defined as projects that pledged to create at least 1,000 jobs and invest at least $1 billion.

“The number of big projects of that size was never historically at that level,” he said. “We might see a couple of those in a given year. I’ve been doing this work for 26 years now. Up until really the past three or four years, it was fairly unprecedented to be competing for more than just a couple of those mega-projects at any given time.”

The EDPNC website lists five available megasites in the state, which each offer more than 1,000 acres.

Over the past two years, North Carolina has been on a roll in terms of attracting new businesses: Vinfast, Boom Supersonic, Apple and Toyota among dozens of smaller projects. This week, the industry publication Business Facilities named North Carolina its “2022 State of the Year,” adding another accolade for the state that CNBC ranks as the best for business.

On Friday, Chung credited the cooperation of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and the Republican-controlled state legislature for ushering in major job announcements, a line that drew applause from the forum crowd of roughly 950.

And Chung suggested this winning streak can continue.

“At a minimum, we have this chance to continue attracting these transformative job-creation investments that can really alter the trajectory of whatever region of North Carolina is fortunate enough to land those projects,” he said.

Why NC’s labor shortages persist

But will there be enough people to fill these future jobs?

The ongoing labor shortage facing the state, and nation, came up throughout the forum, which was hosted by the NC Chamber and the NC Chamber and North Carolina Bankers Association.

“Every business I talk to is short talent,” said Tom Barkin, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, which covers North Carolina. “Businesses thinking of relocating are asking, ‘Where am I going to get talent?’”

Barkin did note that North Carolina is one of only a few states — including South Carolina, Florida and Texas — that has an expanding workforce. This growth, paired with North Carolina’s network of universities and 58 community colleges, is a “basis for a lot of opportunity,” he said.

Chung said the dearth of workers particularly hampers the state’s tourism industry, which relies on service staff.

Laura Ullrich, a Charlotte-based senior regional economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, said “Where are the workers?” is the most common question she’s asked.

“And the very unsatisfying answer is that they’re working, for the most part,” she told the crowd Friday. “People don’t like that answer, but that’s the answer.”

As of November, North Carolina had 217,000 more jobs than before COVID-19, Ullrich said, including around 84,000 additional positions in business and professional services. The only North Carolina industries where jobs have fallen since the pandemic are government and natural resources/mining (the latter of which is only down a few hundred positions).

As labor demand has risen, workers have had the flexibility to pick more desirable roles.

“People have shifted from quite frankly difficult, stressful, customer-facing jobs — whether that’s working in fast food or working as a CNA (certified nursing assistant) in a nursing home or being a public school teacher — to jobs where they can make as much or more money in less stressful jobs,” Ullrich told the audience of bankers and business leaders. “Some of the people who are working at your call center at your bank used to be third-grade teachers. That’s just the reality of it.”

This story was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work.

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