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19 <br /> NC STATE <br /> Table 2. Relative Performance of the North Carolina Economy <br /> 1997-2010 avg 2010-2014 avg 2015 2016 Forecast <br /> NC U.S. NC U.S. NC U.S. NC U.S. <br /> Real GDP growth 2.5% 2.1% 1.3% 2.0% 3.4% 2.2% 3.5% 2.4% <br /> rate <br /> Real GDP growth 0.8% 1.1% 0.2% 1.2% 2.7% 1.4% 2.7% 1.5% <br /> rate per capita <br /> Headline 6.0% 5.8% 8.2% 8.0% 5.5% 5.0% 5.1% 4.7% <br /> unemployment rate <br /> Labor force <br /> 1.1% 0.9% 0.06% 0.04% 3.2% 0.6% 3.0% 0.7% <br /> growth rate <br /> Household <br /> employment growth 0.6% 0.5% 1.4% 1.4% 3.1% 1.4% 2.9% 1.3% <br /> rate <br /> Payroll jobs growth 0.4% 0.4% 1.9% 1.8% 2.2% 1.9% 2.1% 1.7% <br /> rate <br /> Sources: U.S. Dept. of Commerce; author's forecasts <br /> Figure 1 shows the annual percentage increase Figure 1. Annual Percentage Change in NC <br /> in employment in major economic sectors for Payroll Employment by Sector <br /> the 2010-2014 and 2015 time periods. The <br /> economic sectors are arranged in declining <br /> f alici<,le.v <br /> order by average salary. Financial services, the <br /> information <br /> top paying sector, lies at the top of the chart <br /> while the sector with the lowest average salary P /et'S sere °°4141"31.41: <br /> (leisure/hospitality) is at the bottom. During manufacturing ,o <br /> both periods the fastest growth generally has government atO <br /> been in the top and lowest paying sectors, while construiaion f -10,04egsg , <br /> the slowest growth has been in the middle odu/hitn care ° .wirmg <br /> paying sectors. This pattern-one that has t,.cl/tiansp/util <br /> been observed at the national level, and is one <br /> contributor to widening income inequality other Sery <br /> among households-is projected to continue in leisure/hosp <br /> 2016. <br /> 2 4 For decades, a geographic divide in economic ° 6 <br /> performance has prevailed in North Carolina. 2010-2014 2015 <br /> Figure 2 shows annual average payroll job <br /> growth for the 2010-14 and 2015 periods in the <br /> state's regions. In 2010-2014, the metro areas However, even with the relatively positive <br /> of Asheville, Charlotte, Durham, Raleigh, and performance of rural regions of the state in <br /> Wilmington clearly outpaced other regions in 2015, broad economic forces still point to <br /> growth. In 2015, the leaders were Charlotte, further urbanization and faster population and <br /> Durham, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and- job growth in metropolitan regions of North <br /> perhaps surprisingly-rural North Carolina. Carolina in the years ahead. <br /> 5 <br />