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7 <br /> <br />Figure 7. The “Hollowing-Out” of the Labor Market, Percentage Change, 2009-2016 and <br />2017 (Annualized Percentage Change in Jobs Classified by Level of Pay in North Carolina). <br /> <br />Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. <br /> <br /> <br />and slightly higher for “middle-paying” jobs compared to the annual rates in the 2009-2016 <br />period, the pattern was clearly the same. Like the nation, North Carolina still has a problem in <br />creating sufficient jobs paying a middle-income salary <br /> <br />Regional Trends <br /> A clear urban/rural divide has persisted in North Carolina for several decades, and 2017 <br />did little to change that observation. Aggregate payroll job growth rates for North Carolina <br />regions between 2010 and 2017 are shown in Figure 8. Clearly the Charlotte and Raleigh <br />metropolitan areas have been in a class by themselves, with job growth rates approaching 25%. <br />Wilmington, Asheville, and Durham also had aggregate job growth rates above the state average. <br />Next are the Triad and mid-sized metros, followed by the slowest job growth in rural North <br />Carolina and the smallest regions. Goldsboro and Rocky Mount lost payroll jobs over the <br />period. <br /> <br /> <br />0 <br />0.5 <br />1 <br />1.5 <br />2 <br />2.5 <br />3 <br />3.5 <br />High Paying Middle Paying Low Paying <br />% <br />2009-16 2017 <br />13