Business
Luxury home outlook for 2024 remains strong
Jan. 17. By Dave Yochum. Despite two overseas wars, rising mortgage rates and economic uncertainties like inflation, luxury home prices have remained strong with multimillion-dollar cash transactions more and more common. High construction costs, labor shortages and unprecedented in-migration are contributing to a shortage of listings above $1 million. Sticker shock? Average prices for all […]
Atrium ups their minimum wage
Jan. 16. Atrium is increasing its hourly minimum wage $1 an hour to $17.50 per hour in both the Charlotte and Winston-Salem markets. It means an additional $328.4 million in compensation beginning this month. The increased minimum wage affects 31,700 nursing aides, medical assistants, pharmacy techs and environmental services technicians. The federal minimum wage of […]
LKN Chamber Focus Friday features Sawyer, Bradford
Jan. 10. NC Sen. Vickie Sawyer and NC Rep. John Bradford will present a legislative briefing at the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce on Friday, Jan. 19. The Focus Friday event will be both in-person and virtual from 8:30 am to 9:30 am. Chamber officials said NC Rep. Natasha Marcus, who also represents part of […]
Fiber optics firm LTA will bring 54 new jobs to Gaston County
Jan. 10. Lynddahl Telecom America (LTA), a duct solutions company for fiber optics installations, will create 54 new jobs in Gaston County. The company will invest more than $5.6 million over the next three years to establish its first North American plastic extrusion production site in Belmont. LTA specializes in product development and customization as […]
Unemployment by the numbers
Jan. 8. Unemployment rates increased in 39 of North Carolina’s 100 counties in November 2023, decreased in 17, and remained unchanged in 44. Scotland County had the highest unemployment rate at 5.9 percent while Buncombe and Swain Counties each had the lowest at 2.6 percent. Mecklenburg County’s jobless rate came in at 3.3 percent, while […]
Royal Bliss expected to come before Cornelius Planning Board in February
Jan. 5. It looks like Royal Bliss Brewing’s plans for a second location will go before the Planning Board in February. If they’re approved, the project would go before the Town Board in March. Royal Bliss plans a two-story, 10,300-square-foot brewery and restaurant with open-air seating. The restaurant space would be larger than Royal Bliss’ […]
Janice Walker will lead 18,000 nurses across Atrium Health
Jan. 5. Janice Walker has been named Southeast Region chief nursing officer for Advocate Health. She will lead more than 18,000 nurses at Atrium Health’s 40 hospitals and hundreds of care locations in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. Walker, who has 25 years of experience in health care. is a nationally known speaker […]
Report says NC is 5th best nationwide to start a business
Jan. 4. A new study from Forbes Advisor found that North Carolina ranks No. 5 for being the best state to start a business. Over the last year, North Carolina has experienced a net 38 percent increase in the number of small businesses, with a business survival rate of 77 percent. The other Top 5 […]
Bills, bills, bills: How we stack up for monthly expenses
Dec. 28. If you’re planning your 2024 budget, you might want to compare your expenses to Cornelius averages, as provided by doxo, a third party bill pay service that enables consumers to pay and manage their bills in one location. According to Seattle-based doxo, the average household in Cornelius pays $2,249 per month, or $26,983 […]
NC jobless rate increased slightly in November
Dec. 27. North Carolina’s unemployment rate rose a tenth of 1 percent to 3.5 percent in November, while the national rate decreased two-tenths of a percentage point to 3.7 percent. The state’s unemployment rate was down 0.4 of a percentage point from a year ago. According to the NC Dept. of Commerce, the number of […]
