The project team outlined two major, interconnected issues facing communities during the COVID-19 pandemic: hospitality employment and parents departing the workforce. The hospitality industry is one of the hardest hit industries given business closures, reduced capacity, and low consumer confidence. Hospitality employment plummeted in April 2020 and has yet to recover. In North Carolina, September 2020 sector employment was still about 20% lower than September 2019. Underlying this issue is the struggle to reopen businesses safely and improve consumer confidence.

Coworking spaces are popular in metropolitan areas but can also serve as a solution to many challenges that entrepreneurs may face in a rural area. Wilson is one such rural community with a solution—a coworking space called the Gig East Exchange.

The spike in demand for PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a shortage, leaving many healthcare workers and other front-line workers at risk. In response, the Carolina Textile District, a regional manufacturer’s network, shifted their production to PPE.

North Carolina is the 10th hungriest state in the nation, with 604,000 households that do not have enough to eat. The Wake County Food Security Plan tackles hunger through a whole systems approach, examining not only hunger, but the social and economic context around the issue.

Elder abuse is a growing problem in the United States, with about 10% of elder adults abused in some way each year. Learn about how UNC School of Government faculty formed the North Carolina Elder Protection Network, and how Johnston County assembled a multidisciplinary team to combat elder abuse.

Small towns may not be able to compete with large and mid-sized cities in terms of major amenities, but small towns have unique assets on which they could capitalize. Place-based strategies contribute to the development of the community and may make that community more attractive for remote workers. Prior to the pandemic, workers craved communities with peer support groups and places to foster creativity. Co-working spaces and other entrepreneurial supports can help develop rural communities into thriving areas full of creative connections.

The ncIMPACT Initiative at the UNC School of Government and NCGrowth at the Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise partner to identify strategies that will help local economies recover more quickly from the COVID-19 pandemic. Through robust data analysis, case studies, webinars, and peer learning sessions, NC local governments have access to some of the best economic recovery resources in the nation. Learn more about project findings and resources at https://go.unc.edu/KeystoRecovery. You may register for the final free webinar on Jan. 27 at 2 p.m. using this link: https://go.unc.edu/s2N4T.

Community leaders emphasized the importance of public health messaging and precautions on both the individual and organizational levels. They identified mask wearing and rapid testing as major needs for their communities to be able to reopen and improve the local economy, especially in the leisure and hospitality industries, which are struggling under limited capacity. Community leaders also relayed concerns about the delayed financial impact on local governments as the federal CARES money dwindles. The community leaders described solutions they pursue, including local grants and loan programs to help sustain small businesses. They also emphasized the importance of regional and cross-sectoral collaboration in economic recovery, especially in larger communities.

Immigrants represent an important segment of North Carolina residents, making up about 8% of the population, about 12% of self-employed business owners, and accounting for over $14 billion in spending power. The population of immigrants with limited English proficiency (LEP) represents 9 percent of the nation’s population. North Carolina experienced the second-greatest LEP population growth in the U.S. from 1990-2010.