Forbes – North Carolina moves up one spot to third. People have descended on North Carolina for the past decade, and it boasts one of the highest net migration rates in the U.S. Many are chasing jobs. The state’s unemployment rate was stuck above 10% for most of 2009 through 2011, but was down to a recent 6.7% and the outlook is bright. North Carolina has the smallest union workforce in the U.S. in percentage terms. The resulting benefit is labor costs that are 16% below the national average-third lowest in the country. North Carolina has ranked in the top five overall each year of our Best States study.
