Recessions take a significant toll on workers, with unemployment rates in North Carolina once reaching 11.2% during the Great Recession of 2010 and soaring to 14.2% during the economic shutdown of 2020. Such periods make unemployment a widespread personal issue, with many individuals either out of work, underemployed, or discouraged from continuing their job search.
As of March 2025, however, North Carolina’s unemployment rate stands at just 3.7%, with broader measures placing it at 6.7% levels considered low by historical standards. While the possibility of a future recession looms, with some forecasting economic trouble later this year or in early 2026, the more pressing concern is a current labor shortage affecting several key industries in the state.
One of the most heavily impacted sectors is agriculture. Encompassing farming, fishing, forestry, food production, and food service, this sector generated approximately $49 billion in economic output in 2023, representing 16% of the state’s gross domestic product. Despite its size and importance, the agriculture sector is struggling to attract enough workers to meet operational demands.
The labor shortage stems from several interconnected challenges. Demographic changes, such as an aging workforce and declining rural populations, have reduced the pool of potential domestic laborers. Additionally, there is decreasing interest in agricultural work among younger generations. These issues are compounded by regulatory barriers that make it difficult to hire foreign workers through existing visa programs or to develop housing and infrastructure to support seasonal labor.
While mechanization can reduce the demand for human labor in some areas, not all agricultural processes can be automated. For example, harvesting sweet potatoes and other similar crops remains highly labor-intensive. The lack of available workers threatens the ability of growers to get their products out of the ground and into the supply chain a risk with both economic and food security implications.
Several potential solutions have been proposed to address these challenges. Expanding agricultural education programs in primary and secondary schools could spark greater interest in farm-related careers. Initiatives like 4-H and Future Farmers of America offer young people exposure to agriculture and could help rebuild a domestic workforce committed to the sector’s long-term success.
Another critical strategy involves regulatory reform. Streamlining the process for investing in modern equipment, hiring seasonal workers, and developing housing for laborers could ease many of the burdens currently faced by agricultural enterprises. Changes in zoning laws to permit housing on agricultural land, for instance, would help workers live closer to their jobs and improve retention.
On the federal level, reforming the H-2A visa program is essential. This program allows the hiring of seasonal foreign laborers, but its current structure including inflexible wage requirements and a burdensome application process makes it difficult to use efficiently. One proposed improvement is to regionalize wage standards, allowing compensation to better reflect local labor market conditions instead of applying a national minimum.
While some argue that simply raising wages would resolve the labor issue, the reality is more complex. Many farms and food-related businesses operate on thin profit margins and already face consumer resistance to rising prices. Significant wage increases could push many of them out of business or further drive up food costs, which households are reluctant to absorb after recent inflation.
Although automation may help in the long term, it is not a universal fix. The combination of education, regulatory reform, and visa modernization represents a more balanced and immediate approach to securing the labor force agriculture urgently needs. Without timely action, some harvests may remain in the ground a loss for producers, consumers, and the broader economy.
