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View this email in your browser Twitter Facebook BusinessNC.com 09/16/20 Hey y'all, Taylor here. The pandemic has made life a lot more uncertain and stressful, especially when it comes to the business community. I can only imagine the extra strain that working parents of young children going to school remotely are feeling. The burden of balancing a 9-to-5 job and keeping kids' education on track is proving to be a major challenge. Nearly half of working parents — 40% — have had to change their employment by either reducing their hours (25%) or quitting entirely (15%), according to a study from job resource site FlexJobs. About 38% who quit entirely say they do not plan to rejoin the workforce. Mothers were affected more adversely than fathers: 63% of working moms said they were primarily responsible for child care during the pandemic stay-at-home order, while 43% of working dads reported they were the primary caregiver. About 17% of working moms have quit their jobs versus 10% of dads. About 80% of working mothers said they primarily handled the online learning responsibilities of their kids versus 31% of working fathers. The survey found that 58% of working parents would prefer a flexible schedule that would better allow them to juggle their careers, distance learning and child care responsibilities. Many N.C. employers are responding to changing attitudes of working parents, according to a recent report from human resources professional association Capital Associated Industries and Family Forward NC, an initiative of the N.C. Early Childhood Foundation. About 67% of business surveyed said they are proactively changing workplace benefits and see value in enhanced flexibility, more health insurance and increased paid leave. Nearly one third of the companies have added additional paid sick leave or a new paid family leave policy. Nearly 18% of employers have improved their medical coverage or added a telehealth offering. On the flip side, only 3.4% of the surveyed businesses say they've increased or are planning to increase child care benefits. Check out the full survey here. Taylor Wanbaugh dailydigest@businessnc.com Click here to subscribe to Business North Carolina magazine Prospects continue looking brighter for IT industry North Carolina's number of open tech jobs remains steady after a sharp increase in July, according to a report from the N.C. Tech Association. There were 27,608 IT job postings in August, following 27,812 in July and 22,503 in May. "After declining sharply in the early months of COVID-19, North Carolina IT job openings began to track upward over the summer,” said Brooks Raiford, CEO of NC TECH, in a release. “August openings held relatively even with July, so we’ll be interested to see whether the upward trajectory resumes in September." Jacksonville saw the biggest increase in open jobs year-over-year, with a nearly 160% increase from Aug. 2019 to Aug. 2020. Following closely behind was Wilmington, with a 61.2% jump; Fayetteville, 31.3%; Winston-Salem, 23.8%; Asheville, 17.3%; and Burlington, 4.6%. Oracle, IBM, UNC Health Care, HCL Technologies, IQVIA, Wells Fargo, Change Health Care, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Humana, and Thoughtwave Software + Solutions were the top employers of tech talent in August. Demand for web developer hard skills such as software engineering, up 42% from 2019, Python (28.22%), and Java (11.15%) continues to be high, according to the report. Enter to win a dream getaway Interested in a two-day, five-star experience at South Carolina's Kiawah Island? You're in luck — BNC and its sister publication, SouthPark magazine, have teamed up with Kiawah Island Golf Resort to give away an unforgettable experience at The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort. This exclusive prize package includes a two-night getaway at the only Forbes 5-Star/AAA 5-Diamond hotel in South Carolina, plus a round of golf on your choice of four of the resort’s highly acclaimed championship courses. Enter on our Instagram page. Have you checked out our latest podcast episode? On our latest installment, we sat down with Colleen Byers of Bell Davis Pitt and John Sarratt of Harris Sarratt & Hodges to discuss the implications of the Uniform Collaborative Law Act, which was passed by the state of North Carolina in July. The act offers parties involved in civil disputes a new alternative to lengthy, public, and expensive court proceedings and goes into effect on Oct. 1, 2020. Listen here. Today's number: 57 Years that Bill Spoon's BBQ has been open in south Charlotte. The eastern-style barbecue restaurant is closing today, according to a Facebook post by owner Steve Spoon Jr. His grandparents, Bill and Marie Spoon, opened the eatery in 1963, and Steve started working at the business when he was 10 as a busboy. He purchased Bill Spoon's from his grandfather in 2006. Spoon says that the pandemic has "truly been detrimental to small businesses like us that were already barely making ends meet. Despite every attempt to hang on as long as we could, we simply aren’t able to any longer." He mentioned his appreciation of the restaurants' customers. "So many of you have become friends, and we have memories that will last a lifetime. We will miss the smiles, laughter, and conversations over a plate of BBQ and a cold glass of homemade sweet tea." High Point prepares for strong October furniture market (News & Record) The furniture industry is seeing strong sales despite the ongoing pandemic, so industyr buyers and manufacturers are antsy for High Point’s big October market after the April event was postponed. High Point Market recently held a three-day preview event in which dealers had a jump on the main market scheduled for next month. With 12.5 million square feet of space, High Point ‘s market will limit the number of people in showrooms and require masks at all times, but anticipates the show will be busy given current market trends. Asheville home sells for $7.7 million, highest in decades (Citizen Times) The Ellsleigh estate has become Asheville’s most expensive home sale in at least 20 years after selling for $7.7 million on Sept. 10. The estate was built in 1927 and was designed for Robert Lee Ellis, former president of Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Asheville, and his wife, Nan. Local Realtors say there has been a sharp increase in prices paid for high-priced homes in the mountain region lately, mostly by out-of-state residents. Lowe’s CEO creates pitch competition for small businesses to sell products (Fortune) Lowe’s teamed with Shark Tank’s Daymond John to create “Making It… With Lowe’s,” a new initiative that allows small business owners to present their products and perhaps sell them on Lowes.com and in the retailers’ store. The plan is to cast a wide net to reach underrepresented business owners, creating a pool of applicants that will be narrowed down in a one-day pitch competition, Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison said. Ten finalists will then pitch their products to a panel of Lowe’s executives. Former PrecisionHawk CEO begins new venture (Triangle Business Journal) Michael Chasen, former CEO of PrecisionHawk and the co-founder of Blackboard, raised $16 million for a new tech startup. The new company will create an education technology product that could be used with the Zoom and is funded by GSV Ventures, Emergence and SWaN & Legend. Chasen left PrecisionHawk in December after nearly three years at the drone-technology company based in Raleigh. He hasn’t released details about his new venture. Executive order on drug prices may affect local jobs (WRAL TechWire) The North Carolina Biosciences Group is concerned that President Trump’s new executive order regarding drug prices could affect jobs in the state and new drug development. The executive order requires Medicare to pay the same prices for expensive prescription drugs as other countries do, which is typically less than what American’s pay because other their governments usually determine the cost. NCBIO claims the new order could cause companies to rethink their manufacturing priorities, hurting North Carolina as the number two pharmaceutical manufacturing state in the nation. Buncombe looking to build broadband in the county (Citizen Times) Buncombe County’s information technology staff is asking network providers to expand their systems in the area for those who don’t have access to high speed internet. If providers are unable to do so at a low cost, IT staff will explore a county-led system. A 2019 survey found 13% of residents around the Buncombe region don’t have access to broadband, and 50% said their service doesn’t meet their needs. Town of Leland to grow by 300 acres (WECT News) Leland is expected to grow by 300 acres due to a voluntary annexation of unincorporated property in Brunswick County. Town staff has submitted an initial zoning recommendation that will allow for a new residential development on the land, and if the landowner agrees to the annexation, the town will construct a sewer expansion. The planning board will meet on Sept. 22 to consider the request. Site of future Chapel Hill Wegmans changes hands (Triangle Business Journal) Agree Realty of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan paid $32 million for the site of the Chapel Hill Wegmans planned to open in spring. The 13-acre property was sold by Texas-based Leon Capital Group, which acquired the site for $11.9 million in 2017. The sale comes one month after the site of the Cary Wegmans was sold.
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BusinessNC.com
09/16/20
Hey y'all,
Taylor here. The pandemic has made life a lot more uncertain and stressful, especially when it comes to the business community. I can only imagine the extra strain that working parents of young children going to school remotely are feeling. The burden of balancing a 9-to-5 job and keeping kids' education on track is proving to be a major challenge. Nearly half of working parents — 40% — have had to change their employment by either reducing their hours (25%) or quitting entirely (15%), according to a study from job resource site FlexJobs. About 38% who quit entirely say they do not plan to rejoin the workforce. Mothers were affected more adversely than fathers: 63% of working moms said they were primarily responsible for child care during the pandemic stay-at-home order, while 43% of working dads reported they were the primary caregiver. About 17% of working moms have quit their jobs versus 10% of dads. About 80% of working mothers said they primarily handled the online learning responsibilities of their kids versus 31% of working fathers. The survey found that 58% of working parents would prefer a flexible schedule that would better allow them to juggle their careers, distance learning and child care responsibilities. Many N.C. employers are responding to changing attitudes of working parents, according to a recent report from human resources professional association Capital Associated Industries and Family Forward NC, an initiative of the N.C. Early Childhood Foundation. About 67% of business surveyed said they are proactively changing workplace benefits and see value in enhanced flexibility, more health insurance and increased paid leave. Nearly one third of the companies have added additional paid sick leave or a new paid family leave policy. Nearly 18% of employers have improved their medical coverage or added a telehealth offering. On the flip side, only 3.4% of the surveyed businesses say they've increased or are planning to increase child care benefits. Check out the full survey here.
Taylor Wanbaugh dailydigest@businessnc.com
Click here to subscribe to Business North Carolina magazine
North Carolina's number of open tech jobs remains steady after a sharp increase in July, according to a report from the N.C. Tech Association. There were 27,608 IT job postings in August, following 27,812 in July and 22,503 in May. "After declining sharply in the early months of COVID-19, North Carolina IT job openings began to track upward over the summer,” said Brooks Raiford, CEO of NC TECH, in a release. “August openings held relatively even with July, so we’ll be interested to see whether the upward trajectory resumes in September." Jacksonville saw the biggest increase in open jobs year-over-year, with a nearly 160% increase from Aug. 2019 to Aug. 2020. Following closely behind was Wilmington, with a 61.2% jump; Fayetteville, 31.3%; Winston-Salem, 23.8%; Asheville, 17.3%; and Burlington, 4.6%. Oracle, IBM, UNC Health Care, HCL Technologies, IQVIA, Wells Fargo, Change Health Care, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Humana, and Thoughtwave Software + Solutions were the top employers of tech talent in August. Demand for web developer hard skills such as software engineering, up 42% from 2019, Python (28.22%), and Java (11.15%) continues to be high, according to the report.
Interested in a two-day, five-star experience at South Carolina's Kiawah Island? You're in luck — BNC and its sister publication, SouthPark magazine, have teamed up with Kiawah Island Golf Resort to give away an unforgettable experience at The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort. This exclusive prize package includes a two-night getaway at the only Forbes 5-Star/AAA 5-Diamond hotel in South Carolina, plus a round of golf on your choice of four of the resort’s highly acclaimed championship courses. Enter on our Instagram page.
On our latest installment, we sat down with Colleen Byers of Bell Davis Pitt and John Sarratt of Harris Sarratt & Hodges to discuss the implications of the Uniform Collaborative Law Act, which was passed by the state of North Carolina in July. The act offers parties involved in civil disputes a new alternative to lengthy, public, and expensive court proceedings and goes into effect on Oct. 1, 2020. Listen here.
Years that Bill Spoon's BBQ has been open in south Charlotte. The eastern-style barbecue restaurant is closing today, according to a Facebook post by owner Steve Spoon Jr. His grandparents, Bill and Marie Spoon, opened the eatery in 1963, and Steve started working at the business when he was 10 as a busboy. He purchased Bill Spoon's from his grandfather in 2006. Spoon says that the pandemic has "truly been detrimental to small businesses like us that were already barely making ends meet. Despite every attempt to hang on as long as we could, we simply aren’t able to any longer." He mentioned his appreciation of the restaurants' customers. "So many of you have become friends, and we have memories that will last a lifetime. We will miss the smiles, laughter, and conversations over a plate of BBQ and a cold glass of homemade sweet tea."
High Point prepares for strong October furniture market (News & Record)
The furniture industry is seeing strong sales despite the ongoing pandemic, so industyr buyers and manufacturers are antsy for High Point’s big October market after the April event was postponed. High Point Market recently held a three-day preview event in which dealers had a jump on the main market scheduled for next month. With 12.5 million square feet of space, High Point ‘s market will limit the number of people in showrooms and require masks at all times, but anticipates the show will be busy given current market trends.
Asheville home sells for $7.7 million, highest in decades (Citizen Times)
The Ellsleigh estate has become Asheville’s most expensive home sale in at least 20 years after selling for $7.7 million on Sept. 10. The estate was built in 1927 and was designed for Robert Lee Ellis, former president of Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Asheville, and his wife, Nan. Local Realtors say there has been a sharp increase in prices paid for high-priced homes in the mountain region lately, mostly by out-of-state residents.
Lowe’s CEO creates pitch competition for small businesses to sell products (Fortune)
Lowe’s teamed with Shark Tank’s Daymond John to create “Making It… With Lowe’s,” a new initiative that allows small business owners to present their products and perhaps sell them on Lowes.com and in the retailers’ store. The plan is to cast a wide net to reach underrepresented business owners, creating a pool of applicants that will be narrowed down in a one-day pitch competition, Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison said. Ten finalists will then pitch their products to a panel of Lowe’s executives.
Former PrecisionHawk CEO begins new venture (Triangle Business Journal)
Michael Chasen, former CEO of PrecisionHawk and the co-founder of Blackboard, raised $16 million for a new tech startup. The new company will create an education technology product that could be used with the Zoom and is funded by GSV Ventures, Emergence and SWaN & Legend. Chasen left PrecisionHawk in December after nearly three years at the drone-technology company based in Raleigh. He hasn’t released details about his new venture.
Executive order on drug prices may affect local jobs (WRAL TechWire)
The North Carolina Biosciences Group is concerned that President Trump’s new executive order regarding drug prices could affect jobs in the state and new drug development. The executive order requires Medicare to pay the same prices for expensive prescription drugs as other countries do, which is typically less than what American’s pay because other their governments usually determine the cost. NCBIO claims the new order could cause companies to rethink their manufacturing priorities, hurting North Carolina as the number two pharmaceutical manufacturing state in the nation.
Buncombe looking to build broadband in the county (Citizen Times)
Buncombe County’s information technology staff is asking network providers to expand their systems in the area for those who don’t have access to high speed internet. If providers are unable to do so at a low cost, IT staff will explore a county-led system. A 2019 survey found 13% of residents around the Buncombe region don’t have access to broadband, and 50% said their service doesn’t meet their needs.
Town of Leland to grow by 300 acres (WECT News)
Leland is expected to grow by 300 acres due to a voluntary annexation of unincorporated property in Brunswick County. Town staff has submitted an initial zoning recommendation that will allow for a new residential development on the land, and if the landowner agrees to the annexation, the town will construct a sewer expansion. The planning board will meet on Sept. 22 to consider the request.
Site of future Chapel Hill Wegmans changes hands (Triangle Business Journal)
Agree Realty of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan paid $32 million for the site of the Chapel Hill Wegmans planned to open in spring. The 13-acre property was sold by Texas-based Leon Capital Group, which acquired the site for $11.9 million in 2017. The sale comes one month after the site of the Cary Wegmans was sold.