Workers coming to North Carolina

With the challenging economy of recent years, many people have had to move in order to find work. On net, has North Carolina gained or lost people as a result of these moves? N.C. State University economist Mike Walden answers.

“Well, we’ve been on the plus side. We’ve gained more people than we have lost. And, interestingly, the number of people now born in the state is about the same as the number of people born outside the state. That’s a statistic that many have been following. And so it’s about even there.

“And also interesting in terms of the educational characteristics of those moving to the state, over two-thirds of them have a college degree. That’s much higher than the percentage for native-born North Carolinians. And even those folks who have moved to North Carolina from another country in recent years, 60 percent of them have college degrees.

“So, yes, we are in some sense importing people, and I think very importantly we’re importing highly educated people.”