The economy of the United States and North Carolina continues to accelerate and could be headed into the longest economic expansion on record within the next six months, UNC Charlotte professor and economist John Connaughton says.

During the Barings/UNC Charlotte Economic Forecast today, Connaughton emphasized the country is in the second-longest economic expansion since 1854. This economic expansion has been underway for 114 months, as of September 2018. The longest economic expansion on record is 120 months, recorded in the 1991 to 2001 expansion.

“With the national unemployment rate consistently below 4.0 percent, more job openings than job seekers, modest interest rates (in a historical context), and continued consumer optimism, it will take a considerable negative event to slow the economy,” Connaughton said.

Connaughton said not only is the economic growth continuing, but it has also experienced an extra bump. “Positive continued economic growth in 2019 would represent the 10th consecutive year of economic growth for the North Carolina economy. While this is an impressive string of growth, the size of that economic growth until recently has been somewhat lacking. During the second and third quarters of 2018, it appears that both the U.S. and North Carolina economies are beginning to feel the impact of the 2018 tax decrease,” he said.

It remains to be seen if this economic growth from the tax cut can be sustained over the long term, Connaughton said. “The bump up in the state’s GSP growth experienced during the second through fourth quarters of 2018 is likely temporary and is expected to fall back to a more modest rate of growth by 2019.  The 2018 bump up resulted from the fiscal policy tax rate decreases and an initial response to the rollback of government regulations on business. By 2019, the overriding longer-term forces of stagnant labor force growth and modest productivity growth will dictate a slower potential GSP growth rate.”

The economic outlook remains positive. The Consumer Confidence Index remains high, Connaughton said. In November, the index reached 135.7, down slightly from the October index of 137.9.

Unemployment, meanwhile, is at a record low. The United States started 2018 with an unemployment rate of 4.1 percent, which has declined to 3.7 percent by October. North Carolina started the year with a 4.5 percent rate of unemployment, which declined to 3.6 percent by October. By December of 2018, the North Carolina unemployment rate is expected to drop to 3.5 percent.

Connaughton shared the early economic outlook for 2019. Gross State Product (GSP) is expected to reach a level of $597,550.2 million in 2019.  Real (inflation-adjusted) GSP is expected to increase by 2.9 percent over the 2018 level. Fourteen of the state’s fifteen economic sectors are forecast to experience output increases during 2019. The sectors with the strongest expected growth are construction with a projected real increase of 5.7 percent; other services with a projected real increase of 4.9 percent; information with a projected real increase of 4.9 percent; and transportation, warehousing; utilities (TWU) with a projected real increase of 4.9 percent.

With 557 North Carolina teachers earning their national certification this month, North Carolina continues to lead the nation with the most teachers holding the credential from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Nearly 22,000 teachers in North Carolina have attained the respected national certification, which is based on a rigorous performance-based assessment that typically takes from one to three years to complete and measures what accomplished teachers and counselors should know and be able to do.

Nationally, 3,970 teachers earned certification in 2017-18, raising the total among all states to more than 122,034. In addition, almost 4,446 teachers nationally achieved recertification, including 946 board-certified teachers in North Carolina.

North Carolina Superintendent Mark Johnson said students are the beneficiaries of the national certification, which helps teachers become highly effective in the classroom by reaching high standards for teaching and learning.

“Teachers who gain national certification go through a process of learning themselves to hone their practice and demonstrate mastery as teachers,” Johnson said. “I congratulate all of North Carolina’s national board certified teachers.”

North Carolina accounts for nearly one-fifth (18 percent) of all teachers nationally who are certified by the teaching standards organization. Florida ranks second with 13,551 (11 percent of national total) followed by Washington (10,859), South Carolina (9,125) and California (7,065).

Nationally certified teachers also account for a larger percentage of the total teaching force in North Carolina than any other state, with 22 percent having earned the credential. South Carolina ranks second, with 18.7 percent.

North Carolina school districts also continue to rank among the top 30 districts nationally for numbers of teachers with national certification, with seven: Wake County remained first with 2,745; Charlotte-Mecklenburg is fourth with 2,137; Guilford County is ninth with 756; Buncombe County is 17th with 584; Winston-Salem/Forsyth is 18th with 574; New Hanover County is 24th with 514; and Union County is 30th with 448.

Nine North Carolina colleges and universities ranked among the top 50 higher education institutions nationwide with the most alumni holding the national credential, with five of the North Carolina institutions in the top 10. Appalachian State University was first with 2,090, East Carolina University, second with 2,052; the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, fourth with 1,410; the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, sixth with 1,353; the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, seventh with 1,226; North Carolina State University, tied for 16th with 933; Western Carolina University, 20th with 877; the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 21st with 854; and Meredith College, 46th with 454.

Teachers in North Carolina who achieve certification receive a 12 percent salary supplement to their regular pay. They also are awarded eight continuing education credits (CEUs).

North Carolina supports teachers pursuing national certification by providing low-interest loans to pay the $1,900 assessment fee and three paid release days from normal teaching duties for new candidates to develop their portfolios. Also, the State Board of Education awards a North Carolina teaching license to out-of-state teachers who are employed in North Carolina and who possess the national certification.

Certification by the National Board is the highest credential in the teaching profession, and participation is voluntary. As a part of the certification process, candidates build a portfolio that includes student work samples, assignments, videotapes and a thorough analysis of their classroom teaching. Certification is currently available to educators in 25 fields.

The National Board in 2014-15 revised its certification process to make it more flexible and affordable while maintaining the same rigorous standards. Teachers can still earn certification in one year but can choose to take several years depending on their personal circumstances. The overall cost has decreased and candidates may pay for and submit each component separately.

Duke Energy and Dominion Energy have just hit a major roadblock in their progress of building a massive 600-mile pipeline through the heart of North Carolina.

The pipeline would start in the fracking fields of West Virginia, wind through Virginia and North Carolina, and end at the bottom of our state. It would collect natural gas from several stations along the route, and distribute it across the 3 states.

The energy partnership claims  the pipeline would add, “17,000 new jobs, $377 million in annual energy cost savings, $28 million in new local tax revenue and the revitalization of the region’s manufacturing economy.”

Since its initial announcement, however, it’s faced continued opposition from environmental groups, community organizations, and government regulators alike.

This past Friday, all work on the pipeline came to an abrupt halt when The U.S. Court of Appeals suspended the federal permits due to the path of the pipeline traveling through the habitats of 4 separate endangered species: a bee, a bat, a mussel and a crustacean.

Several environmental group’s submit legal briefs claiming that pipeline construction will harm the endangered species in a number of ways. The clubshell mussel would be buried alive by dredging and grading. Digging and blasting could crush or trap the Madison cave isopod. The rusty-patched bumblebee would be injured and/or killed by tree felling. And tree clearing would force pregnant female bats to change their flight routes, exposing them to predators.

While the bat’s habitat covers the greatest along the pipeline’s path, the endangered bumble bee is in the most precarious position of the affected species.

“RPBB is on the brink of extinction,” according to the environmental legal brief. “Its populations have have plummeted 88 percent since the 1990s.”

Duke Energy will now have to prove that they will take the necessary measures to protect the endangered species before they are able to continue.