Vital signs.

Change Latest Previous Previous from month month year last year EMPLOYMENT Employed (000s) 4,387.1 4,373.0 4,317.7 1.6% Civilian labor force 4,678.4 4,668.5 4,711.4 (0.7) Manufacturing 444.2 442.2 442.7 0.3 Service 3,487.6 3,471.7 3,421.3 1.9 Government 713.5 715.0 716.1 (0.4) Unemployed 291.3 295.5 393.7 (26.0) Avg. manufacturing 43.7 43.9 41.2 6.1 workweek (hours) Avg. hourly production $16.68 $16.75 $16.76 (0.5) wage UNC Charlotte economist John Connaughton predicts the state's gross domestic product will grow 1.9% in 2014, less than the 2.3% last year because of rising interest rates and an aging workforce.

Latest Previous Previous Change month month year from last year TAXABLE RETAIL SALES (1) (millions) Alamance 159,982.0 138,571.3 150,857.6 6.0% Buncombe 322,979.4 263,883.9 303,216.8 6.5 Cabarrus 238,288.3 198,250.4 229,775.0 3.7 Catawba 163,585.1 136,952.0 156,590.6 4.5 Cumberland 318,929.6 287,343.5 325,730.3 (2.1) Durham 498,843.3 411,543.3 418,001.6 19.3 Forsyth 364,642.1 319,419.0 353,564.9 3.1 Gaston 148,341.5 127,600.1 140,413.0 5.6 Guilford 528,236.2 438,778.5 509,151.6 3.7 Iredell 163,878.1 134,452.2 152,560.2 7.4 Mecklenburg 1,481,873.4 1,235,098.8 1,399,609.8 5.9 New Hanover 282,610.3 239,549.0 279,253.8 1.2 Onslow 168,788.7 142,352.9 165,729.0 1.8 Pitt 161,604.3 147,453.1 160,545.5 0.7 Wake 1,085,189.5 898,188.6 1,010,338.4 7.4 N.C. STATE UNIVERSITY INDEX OF ECONOMIC INDICATORS

The index, a comparison of the state economy from month to month created by N.C. State economist Michael Walden, is calculated from the Economic Cycle Research Institute's Weekly Leading Index, North Carolina initial claims for unemployment benefits, North Carolina building permits and average weekly work hours and earnings for Tar Heel manufacturing workers. Raw data, which is seasonally adjusted, comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and U.S. Census Bureau.

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