Hitting the sweet spot: North Carolina's diversified economy is picking up steam, though a panel of state leaders finds the divide between urban and rural fortunes perplexing.

PositionECONOMIC FORECAST ROUND TABLE

WITH ITS UNEMPLOYMENT RATE sliced by more than 40% over the past four years and five straight years of growth, North Carolina has shared in the U.S. economic rebound. Business North Carolina gathered a panel of state leaders to discuss the state's prospects in 2015. Comments were edited for brevity and clarity.

PARTICIPANTS:

N.C. Rep. David Lewis, a Republican from Dunn and chairman of the House Finance Committee in 2014

John Loyack, vice president of global business services, Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina

Richard Reich, assistant commissioner, N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

Joan Siefert Rose, president, Council for Entrepreneurial Development

Scott Saylor, president, North Carolina Railroad Company

Robert Seligson, CEO, North Carolina Medical Society

Tony Smith, president, North Carolina Association of Realtors

Mark Steckbeck, assistant professor of economics, Campbell University

Campbell University's Lundy-Fetterman School of Business sponsored the discussion, held at the university's law school in Raleigh. The N.C. Association of Realtors and N.C. Railroad Company provided additional support. BNC publisher Ben Kinney moderated the discussion. The transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.

What is the general economic outlook?

Steckbeck: The Fed puts out a coincident index, which is a combination of indicators including unemployment rate, weekly hours, average hourly earnings and other factors. It looks very, very favorable moving into 2015. Most labor statistics, including the increase in jobs, are also very, very favorable. The major metropolitan areas, other than Fayetteville, are doing pretty well. But the rural areas are not doing as well.

How is the technology industry faring?

Rose: The tech economy has been pretty red hot for a few years, which is great. With the public markets doing so well, we have seen a lot of entrepreneurial growth. Across the state 13 companies have had initial public offerings, which is huge for us. It reflects the strength of the public markets and shows that we have a strong pipeline of companies and some good investors, so we've been able to lead syndicate investments. So you have patient money and smart entrepreneurs and fairly well-developed entrepreneurial ecosystems, especially in the Triangle, increasingly in Charlotte and the Triad, and somewhat in Asheville and Wilmington, that can support these companies. The Kauffman Foundation did a study that for each of the past 10 years, including the recession, there were about 1.5 million new jobs created by companies with fewer than 10 employees. That's most of the group we are talking about today. I think 2015 is going to be a good year for entrepreneurship.

Are there any areas of concern for tech?

Rose: One caution is that we are competing with places like Austin, Chicago, Atlanta and Nashville that are putting a lot of promotion and marketing behind their startup sector. That's something we haven't seen as much in North Carolina. My sense is that for many years the Research Triangle has been seen as a hot place for entrepreneurship, but I think we are starting to lose a step in terms of how we are acting in a competitive way nationally. It's time for the entrepreneurial sector to join in...

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