Raleigh, NC – The North Carolina House of Representatives has given bipartisan approval to House Bill 263, the "2024 Appropriations Act." The House budget includes investments in teacher and state employee raises, childcare funding, and it fully funds Opportunity Scholarships.
Republicans in the North Carolina Senate Redistricting and Elections Committee considered legislation to place three constitutional amendments on the 2024 general election ballots.
Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) decreased in all 100 of North Carolina’s counties in April 2024.
North Carolina is a diverse state and that diversity is our strength. It is troubling to see the continued politicization of important state institutions, particularly higher education.
The state’s seasonally adjusted April 2024 unemployment rate was 3.5 percent, unchanged from March’s revised rate. The national rate increased 0.1 of a percentage point to 3.9 percent.
As inflation squeezes our wallets, concerns over the cost of healthcare loom large for North Carolina families. A recent survey showed that 54% of state residents worry about affording medications, with nearly a third resorting to skipping doses or refusing to fill prescriptions to save money.
Leaders from the North Carolina Department of Commerce and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services formally launched a collaborative process of developing a report to the North Carolina General Assembly on opportunities to provide workforce development services in conjunction with the state’s Medicaid expansion.
Governor Roy Cooper announced three appointments to the North Carolina District Court.
Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) decreased in 44 of North Carolina’s counties in March 2024, increased in 22, and remained unchanged in 34. Hyde County had the highest unemployment rate at 7.6 percent while Greene County had the lowest at 2.8 percent.
In the mosaic of domestic economic vitality, American businesses are the mortar holding our country together. Small businesses, in particular, are responsible for two-thirds of all newly created U.S. jobs, yet they are the most vulnerable to economic shifts and have faced unprecedented challenges in recent years – from lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to persistent supply chain disruptions.
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a column observing that, over the first eight months of the 2023-24 fiscal year, the state’s General Fund revenue was down slightly from what was collected during the first eight months of the previous fiscal year.
Over the past two years, North Carolina had made critical investments in the future of our state.
