(The Center Square) – New job creations in September set a record in North Carolina, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall said Tuesday.
The state had 15,619 new businesses, the strongest September on record and a 24% increase over the same month a year before.
The third quarter of 2025 also set a new record, with 45,000 new businesses, Marshall said.
The first quarter of the year was slow for new business creations in the state but the pace quickened as the year progressed, the Marshall said during a monthly meeting of state leaders.
“We had a slow start but we are catching up fast,” said Marshall.
During the Council of State meeting, Labor Commissioner Luke Farley appeared remotely from Taiwan, where he is on a trade mission to drum up even more businesses for the state.
He is talking to Taiwanese government officials and trade associations “primarily about how great North Carolina is and how more Taiwanese businesses should be setting up shop in North Carolina,” Farley said.
Farley has emphasised that the state has been designated by CNBC as the top state in the United States for business.
“They may get tired of hearing it at this point but I am so proud of North Carolina that I am not going to get tired of telling them,” the first-term Republican said.
First-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein just returned from a trip to Taiwan and Japan which he described Tuesday as “immensely successful.”
The governor met with 30 businesses and spoke to three large business groups.
“Hopefully in the coming weeks, we will have positive news to report,” the governor said. “North Carolina is very well known over there. Our brand is strong internationally. Folks know about us being a hub of biotech. They know about us being good for business.”
