Current and Projected Population, Employment, and Income, Tar-Neuse River Basin, North Carolina

The objective of this report is to describe the population, employment, and income In the Tar-Neuse River Basin, North Carolina and present appropriate historic, current and projected estimates of the parameters for 1980, 2000, and 2020. The information will be used in planning the development of the natural resources - water and land, and is needed to assess the effective and efficient use of these resources. Population in the study area has grown steadily in the recent past and projections show a continued growth. In the past the steady growth has resulted, in spite of the out-migration, from more births than deaths. In the future, a decline in the birth rate will be somewhat offset by a reduced out-migration, permitting a continued increase in the population. There were a greater number of people employed in 1970 than in 1950 in the study area, but this increase was less than the increase in the civilian labor force, resulting in an increased unemployment rate. For the entire area, unemployment is above that for the state by about one percent in 1972. Three counties in the study area, for some months in 1972, had unemployment of six per cent or more. Personal and per capita income has increased from 1950 to 1970 in the study area. Per capita income is expected to be $1,000 more in 1980 than the $2,600 in 1970, and is likely to be about the same as for the state in 2000.