Reform needed now to bring jobs to NC

Greensboro News & Record editors say that North Carolina must take a new approach to job creation as past policies have shut the door to new businesses moving to the state and we are quickly losing ground.

When ConAgra Foods announced Wednesday it will shut its Slim Jim plant in Garner and move production to Troy, Ohio, it followed a trend.

Ohio finished first in Site Selection magazine’s 2009 standings, also released Wednesday. The placement was based on the number of new and expanded corporate facilities.

North Carolina ranked seventh, an enviable position but a dip from fifth in 2008, fourth in 2007 and third in 2006.

North Carolina also slipped last year in the annual United Van Lines study. Looking at more than 140,000 interstate household moves, United found more families moving into North Carolina than moving out. But the state’s ranking as a destination was 10th-best, compared to third just the year before.

The Charlotte Observer reported similar findings Thursday for the state’s largest city…

By some measures, including an unemployment rate that’s higher than the national average, North Carolina isn’t doing well.

Although still attractive to new residents and businesses, the appeal doesn’t seem to be as strong as it was just a few years ago. Leaders need to discover the reasons — whether tax rates, education, infrastructure, regulatory costs — and make adjustments. …

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