• While overall employment in the State of North Carolina increased 4.97% between 1997 and 2002, employment within the construction industry rose by 13.65%, creating 27,077 new construction jobs as well as 1,285 new construction establishments in 5 years.

• Construction workers in North Carolina saw a salary increase of 14.12% from 1997-2002, compared to the average salary increase construction workers across the United States, which increased by 14.97%. 

• The number of businesses in North Carolina grew from 149,186 in 1997 to 158,036 in 2002, an increase of 5.93%.  Construction establishments in North Carolina however, increased by 5.36% from 23,990 in 1997 to 25,275 in 2002.

• Of the 8,850 new businesses established between 1997 and 2002 in North Carolina, 1,285 or 14.52% of those establishments were in the construction industry. 

• According to Union Membership and Coverage Database, available at www.unionstats.com, in 2006, only .9 percent of North Carolina’s private construction workforce belonged to a construction trade union.  That means that approximately 99 out of 100 North Carolina’s private construction workers do not belong to a labor union.

Data are from the U.S. Bureau of the Census except where noted.

• North Carolina does not have a state prevailing wage law.