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Harnett and surrounding counties have a growing and experienced labor pool. We offer a highly productive workforce for companies concerned about the quality of their products and services.
Harnett County is one of the thirteen counties that make up the Research Triangle Regional Partnership group of counties. Harnett County is located between the Durham Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and the Raleigh-Cary MSA to the north and the Fayetteville MSA to the south. Harnett County is home to the Dunn Micropolitan Statistical Area and a part of the Durham-Raleigh-Cary Combined Statistical Area (CSA).
Thirteen colleges are within a one-hour drive of our county, including three major research universities: Duke University in Durham, University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University in Raleigh.
We are located in close proximity to the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, a state supported initiative that provides grants and creative services to support biotech companies and the MCNC, which offers advanced resources in microfabrication and telecommunications and houses the North Carolina Supercomputing Center. We are within a one-hour drive to the Research Triangle Institute, the nation's fourth largest nonprofit contract research organization. Our proximity to outstanding educational and research facilities provide educated and talented graduates, a high quality labor supply and opportunities for interactive research.
| Harnett County's Annual Unemployment Rate (2005 Annual) |
5.20% |
| Harnett County's Latest Unemployment Rate (February 2008) |
5.4% |
| Harnett County's # of Unemployed (February 2008) |
2,635 |
| Total County Workforce (February 2008) |
49,085 |
| North Carolina's Latest Unemployment Rate (February 2008) |
5.0% |
| Raleigh-Cary MSA Latest Unemployment Rate (February 2008) |
4.2% |
| Fayetteville MSA Latest Unemployment Rate (February 2008) |
5.7% |
| US Latest Unemployment Rate (February 2008) |
4.8% |
Source: NC Department of Commerce / EDIS and ESC
| County Average Weekly Wage Per Worker Per Week (2007) |
$522 |
| Per Capita Personal Income (2005) |
$30,553 |
Source: NC Department of Commerce / EDIS
North Carolina is one of 20 states with a "right-to-work" law. Closed shop and union shop agreements are not permitted. An employer may not require an employee to join a union, nor may an employer require an employee to refrain from joining a union. The membership rate in unions in North Carolina is among the lowest in the nation, at 4.8% of employed residents. There are no manufacturing companies with unions in Harnett County.
