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Quietly, Government Stops Counting ‘Green’ Jobs

RALEIGH — As a candidate for president in 2008, Barack Obama said he would create 5 million green jobs, and in 2009 the U.S. Department of Labor had developed plans to define and count them. Officials in the N.C. Department of Commerce received nearly $1 million allocated by the federal government to survey companies across North Carolina. But the BLS programs measuring green jobs and reporting on green-job activities ended in March 2013.

Don Carrington

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Government Jobs Untouched by the Great Recession

RALEIGH — Public sector employment levels in North Carolina have been stable since the start of the recession in December 2007. It would take a loss of 63,000 government jobs to match the nearly 9 percent net loss that has occurred in the private sector during that time.

Don Carrington
News

NC Job Growth Revised Downward

RALEIGH — Last month, Gov. Mike Easley announced that North Carolina had gained 13,400 new jobs in May. The announcement was a noted departure from standard practice, and Easley took the opportunity to link his policies to the employment gain. But the governor may not be so eager to continue making the announcements. Revised numbers now show the job gain for May was actually 3,300, or 10,100 less than the governor reported. And while the preliminary data for June appear to show a large 35,000 gain, the overwhelming majority were in the government category — and these trends appear to stem from statistical quirks related to year-round schooling.

Don Carrington
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