(The Center Square) – North Carolina employment in agriculture, forestry, and fishing and hunting took the biggest hit during the pandemic, while jobs in transportation and warehousing jumped significantly, according to a Department of Commerce analysis.
The state Department of Commerce reviewed Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages data to take a closer look at how the state’s different industries fared during the pandemic. The findings released Tuesday show that while employment across all industries grew by nearly 4%, at least eight industries lost jobs.
Data on industrial employment growth between the second quarter of 2019 and the second quarter of 2022 shows the biggest losers were largely service-related industries. The data does not include self-employed workers or independent contractors.
Employment in agriculture, forestry, and fishing and hunting declined the most by percentage, losing 9.7%. Others that lost jobs include a management of companies and enterprises down 3.9%, educational services down 3.5%, and arts, entertainment and recreation, which slid 3.4%.
Accommodation and food services declined by 3.3%, while the manufacturing, health and social assistance, and public administration industries were down less than 1%.
“One result that may surprise people is the slight decline in employment in the health care and social assistance industry,” the report read. “This industry lost a little more than 900 jobs between Q2 2019 and Q2 2022.”
The transportation and warehousing industry witnessed the largest percentage increase at 22.5%, followed by professional science and technical services, up 19.6%. Other industries with significant gains include an 18.8% increase in finance and insurance, an 11.2% increase in real estate and rental and leasing, and an 11% increase in administrative and support services.
The information industry added 7.1% more jobs, while wholesale trade increased by the same percentage. Construction jobs increased by 6.7%, “other services” by 5.5%, utilities by 5.2%, and retail trade by 3.2%. Jobs in mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction increased by 0.5%.
In terms of actual jobs, the professional, scientific and technical services sector added the most with a gain of 51,000 during the study period.
“This industry has been one of the state’s fastest growing industry sectors since 1990 and this trend continued through the recession,” according to the report. “Many of the jobs in this industry lend well to work from home and would not have been as likely to be eliminated during COVID.”
The 22.5% increase in transportation and warehousing equated to a gain of 36,000 jobs, driven largely by online purchases during the pandemic.
“Employment gains in this industry were seen in four subsectors related to home delivery from local or internet retailers, distribution warehouse facilities storing and delivering inventory for large retailers like Amazon or Walmart, and private transportation,” the report read. “That makes sense considering people were attempting to avoid crowds and these industries helped facilitate that.”
More than 34,000 jobs added in the finance and insurance industry were fueled in part by panic buying life insurance and increased demand for mortgages amid historically low interest rates, the Commerce Department said.
