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Articles about the Economy

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N.C. unemployment benefits take a dramatic hit
   March 6, 2013

Recently approved unemployment benefit changes in N.C. are structured in a way that will cause additional federal cuts to kick in – reducing by 74 percent the maximum number of weeks that jobless North Carolinians can receive unemployment checks. (Photo:Jmturner via Wikimedia Commons) Read more
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Gaston, once a manufacturing sector powerhouse, now lags Union
   February 28, 2013

Local perceptions may not have caught up with the new reality in the Charlotte region’s manufacturing economy. Even before the recession began in 2007, declines in the textile and furniture industries were changing the structure of local employment. As the downturn continued, counties that depended less on textile and furniture manufacturing lost fewer jobs. The result: Several counties... Read more
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Advanced manufacturing: Economic lifeline?
   February 28, 2013
Jeff Michael
North Carolina's young people are increasingly steered away from manufacturing jobs. But many people now believe manufacturing has more promise than the low-wage service jobs that dominate the limited options for young people outside the state’s urban areas. (Photo: GMI) Read more
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Is the Charlotte region ready for another boom?
   February 14, 2013

Times have been tough in the local economy, but it looks as if we’ve finally turned the corner. If growth is starting to make a comeback, exactly where will it be? Is your county ready? (Photo:  U.S. Census Bureau, Public Information Office) Read more
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What’s ahead for Mecklenburg building permits?
   February 4, 2013

New single-family residential building permits in Mecklenburg County have been on a roller coaster ride since 2003. But preliminary numbers show a promising upswing heading into 2013. Using U.S. Census Bureau data1 to examine the previous decade's trends tracking back to 2003, what can we expect for new construction as we move forward in 2013? Read more
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Charlotte economic outlook improves for first quarter
   January 10, 2013

The first quarter 2013 Charlotte Business Confidence Index report, released Jan. 2, shows Mecklenburg County business leaders' optimism about economic prospects in the first quarter 2013 improved compared to their expectations for the fourth quarter 2012. Read more
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Tracking neighborhood trends just got easier
   January 10, 2013
Mary Newsom
Since 1993 the City of Charlotte has tallied information about some (and in later years all) city neighborhoods, in its regular Quality of Life reports. But this year major changes are afoot for the project, which opened its online doors to the public on Monday. Read more
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In 2013, can region apply lessons from past 5 years?
   December 17, 2012
Jeff Michael
2013 may be a year historians look back on as the time local leaders hit the “reset” button on issues that had been at the forefront of public policy discussions before the 2008 economic meltdown. Will leaders revisit these issues following the same assumptions and conventional strategies as before? Or will lessons learned in the past five years and a new set of leaders take the region down an... Read more
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Will optimism on economy continue post-election?
   November 14, 2012
Bill McCoy
Surveys are pointing to a new optimism about the local and national economy. Can we move beyond the election and the “fiscal cliff" so that these optimistic attitudes turn into economic realities? Read more
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As society changes, so does rentership
   November 12, 2012

For many reasons, more Americans are renting their homes today compared to recent years. How does that reality square with long-held perceptions about homeowners versus renters? Read more