How low unemployment poses a challenge to the Hickory area — and what's being done to combat it

By Ken Elkins  – Senior Staff Writer, Charlotte Business Journal

Some interesting and unfortunate circumstances come from Hickory’s 3.3% unemployment rate.

First, the interesting: with only 2,300 on the jobless rolls, Catawba County is at full employment. (Many economists deem a jobless rate under 5% as full employment). Chances are that most who want a job in the Hickory area have one.

Now, the unfortunate: there's a small pool of employees for attracting economic development projects. Scott Millar, president of the Catawba County Economic Development Corp., figures that some such projects may be passing up on Catawba County for fear they can’t find a workforce there.

Click here to read the rest of the article in the Charlotte Business Journal.