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17 <br /> The paths since the end of the Great Recession of annual changes in private sector real <br /> (inflation-adjusted)wage rates (average hourly earnings) in North Carolina and the nation are <br /> shown in Figure 5. In the five years from 2010 to 2014 real wage rate changes were negative in <br /> North Carolina for four of those years, compared to one for the nation. However, in the three <br /> years from 2015 to 2017, the state's wage rate gains have been the same or higher than the <br /> nation's, suggesting better improvement in North Carolina's labor market in more recent years. <br /> Between 2009 and 2017, real wage rates in North Carolina increased 3.3%, compared to 3.6% <br /> for the U.S. <br /> North Carolina's labor force (defined as individuals aged 20 to 59)has continued to <br /> expand faster than the nation's, rising 8%between 2010 and 2016 compared to a gain of 2.3% <br /> for the nations A major reason is greater in-migration of out-of-state households moving to <br /> North Carolina. In every year from 2010 to 2016, North Carolina has ranked between 11th and <br /> 13th among states in the rate of net in-migration, defined as the difference between the number of <br /> individuals moving to North Carolina from other states and the number of individuals moving <br /> from North Carolina to other states, with the result expressed as a rate per 1000 North Carolina <br /> residents.6 <br /> However, a continuing challenge for the state is its lag in labor productivity <br /> improvement. In only one year since 2010 has labor productivity in North Carolina improved. <br /> As a consequence, the state's aggregate labor productivity declined from 2010 to 2016.7 In <br /> contrast, aggregate national labor productivity improved from 2010 to 2016. <br /> One potential reason for this disparity is the distribution of job gains by income. From <br /> 2010 to 2016, almost half(48.4%) of the jobs added in North Carolina were in lower-paying <br /> economic sectors. By comparison,just under 40% (39.6%) of jobs added at the national level <br /> were in this category. Also, middle-paying jobs accounted for 31% of the job gains in North <br /> Carolina from 2010 to 2016, much less than the national share of 44.4% for middle-paying jobs. <br /> Since lower-paying jobs tend to have lower rates of labor productivity, the differences in the <br /> income levels of jobs created in North Carolina and the country likely account for a large part of <br /> the differences in productivity trends.8 <br /> The job trends for 2010 to 2016 are part of a longer run trend in North Carolina of a <br /> "hollowing-out" of the labor force, implying faster growth in higher-paying and lower-paying <br /> jobs and smaller or negative job growth in middle-paying jobs (Figure 6). <br /> 5 Rates are from the U.S. Bureau of the Census and the North Carolina Office of Management and Budget. <br /> 6 www.governing.com <br /> 'The decline in North Carolina labor productivity between 2010 and 2016 was led by double-digit drops in <br /> productivity in the utilities, nondurable manufacturing,and transportation sectors. <br /> $ High-paying jobs are those in professional and technical, management,financial services,and information <br /> sectors; middle-paying jobs are in construction, manufacturing,education and health care,wholesale trade,and <br /> transportation; and lower-paying jobs are in natural resources,administrative services, leisure and hospitality, <br /> retail trade,and other services sectors. On the positive side, North Carolina did generate a higher percentage of <br /> job growth during the 2010 to 2016 period from higher-paying jobs than the nation (20.6%versus 16%). Data are <br /> from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. <br /> 6 <br />