Median household income continues to fall in N.C.

Published April 24, 2015

by John Quinterno, South by North Strategies, April 22, 2015.

A new report released today finds that the income of the typical North Carolina household fell not just during the “Great Recession,” but has continued to fall during the recovery, leaving the proclamations of a “Carolina Comeback” far short of the mark. The report was written by John Quinterno of South by North Strategies, Ltd. on behalf of Think NC First.Among the report’s key findings are the following:

  • From 2007 to 2013, the inflation-adjusted income of the median North Carolina household dropped by more than 8%. Median income fell by 5.5% from 2007 to 2009 and by another 3.2% during the recovery that started in 2009 through 2013.

  • From 2009 to 2013, real average household income fell or remained unchanged for every household income group in North Carolina except for the top 5%.

  • The distribution of household income in North Carolina has grown more unequal since 2007, and the distribution of income in North Carolina in 2013 was more unequal than in the nation as a whole.

  • The annual earnings of the median worker (ages 16+) fell by 7.4% between 2007 and 2013.

  • Median annual earnings have fallen regardless of a worker’s level of education (ages 25+). Even typical workers with bachelor’s degrees or postgraduate degrees saw their earnings drop from 2007 to 2013.

  • Real median household income in North Carolina was effectively no different in 2013 than in 1984.

“Since peaking in early 2010, North Carolina’s unemployment rate has fallen sharply, a development that has led many civic leaders and pundits to herald a ‘Carolina Comeback.’ That claim, while alliterative, glosses over the deep problems that still trouble the state’s labor market and ignores the erosion in household income levels and living standards that have occurred since the last recession,” writes JohnQuinterno. “Judged against the criteria of broadly rising incomes and living standards, North Carolina’s comeback is far short of the mark.”Click here to access the full report.

http://www.sbnstrategies.com/archives/14186

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April 24, 2015 at 5:26 pm
Richard L Bunce says:

Report seems to interchange median, average, and typical household incomes... not real clear why the various uses. Also during this period significant number of low wage immigrant households were established in the State which will bring the median and average down... not sure what affect it has on typical.

But this is all statistical gymnastics however. Clearly the labor market in the US and around the world is changing driven by globalization where human labor is still the best value and by technology replacing human labor altogether. There is nothing the State can or should try to do about that other than stop taking as much of the households wealth in taxes, fees, and regulations directly and indirectly through the businesses that employee them and where they shop.