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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Making Ends Meet: Report Highlights NC's Ongoing Economic Struggle

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Wednesday, March 18, 2015   

RALEIGH, N.C. - It's been seven years since the Great Recession hit North Carolina, but seven isn't such a lucky number for thousands of North Carolinians still reeling from the impact, according to a report released this week by the North Carolina Budget and Tax Center.

The analysis found that there still aren't enough jobs in the state to keep up with population growth and that the percentage of people employed still falls below pre-recession levels.

Report author Patrick McHugh said it's important to look at the whole picture when judging the state's recovery.

"The reality is that we certainly have put the worst of the Great Recession in the rearview mirror," he said, "but when you look a little bit deeper into some of the data that reflects what North Carolina's economy looks like, there's really a lot of cause for concern."

According to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the average hourly wage has declined by almost 2 percent from 2007 to 2014 and the number of unemployed has increased by almost 12 percent. The report acknowledged that in some aspects, North Carolina's economic recovery has outpaced the United States as a whole, with 1.3 percent growth versus 0.8 percent growth in the nation.

McHugh also found that the average income in industries that have seen growth since the recession has an average salary almost $10,000 lower than the average income in industries where employment has declined.

"There's still not enough jobs for everyone who wants to work," he said. "Wages for a lot of workers in North Carolina are flat and even a little bit down over the last seven years, and this recovery is completely bypassing huge parts of the state."

According to employment data, rural counties in North Carolina specifically have been hard hit by a declining job market. Additionally, the rate of unemployment among black people is double that of whites.

The full report is online at ncjustice.org.


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