The military supports 578,000 jobs in North Carolina and more than two thirds of those jobs are in the private sector, demonstrating the impact of the military ripples across the state’s economy and not just concentrated near military installations. Those are the key findings of a new report released today by the North Carolina Military Affairs Commission and the North Carolina Department of Commerce.
“North Carolina has always provided a military-friendly environment to support the work of our servicemen and women,” said Governor McCrory. “This report provides clear evidence the military returns important economic support back to our state, which we can never take for granted.”
Among the report’s key findings:
The report found that 386,000 of the total military-supported jobs occur in the private sector. It also found the military boosts personal income in the state by nearly $34 billion and contributes $66 billion to Gross State Product (GSP).
Federal data also reports that 775,000 military veterans live in North Carolina and those veterans received more than $8.2 billion in pensions, medical care and other support from the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2014.
The study, researched and compiled by N.C. Commerce’s Labor and Economic Analysis team using state and federal data also reports that 78,000 active duty personnel will separate from the military in North Carolina from 2015 to 2018, due in part to the drawdown of personnel following recent military actions and realignment of troop levels.
“The men and women who have served our country in the nation’s military have even more to give,” said retired Major General Cornell Wilson, Gov. McCrory’s military affairs advisor. “These highly-trained veterans enter North Carolina’s workforce offering employers a can-do attitude and valuable skills.”
Other report findings include:
- The top three private industry sectors supported by the military in North Carolina are Professional, Scientific and Technical Services; Administrative and Waste Management Services; and Construction.
- 102,000 active duty military personnel were assigned to units in North Carolina as of June 2015.
- The North Carolina National Guard has strength of nearly 12,000 with more than 20,000 in the Reserves.
- More than 20,000 civilian contractors in North Carolina are employed by the Department of Defense and the North Carolina National Guard.
- 79 of the 100 counties in North Carolina had prime contracting activity in the 2014 fiscal year.
The full report is available online here.