Perdue Aims to Brings More Jobs to NC through Port of Morehead City

When asked what she thought about the latest unemployment rate, Governor Bev Perdue told us we probably haven’t seen the worst yet. The Governor toured the Port of Morehead City today and explained her take on the Port’s role in today’s economy.

In reference to the current unemployment rate, Governor Perdue says, “11 is high. North Carolina and America is in a total restructuring.“ Perdue believes that restructuring could start here at the Port of Morehead City.

The natural rubber that’s shipped through here helps employ thousands. But Perdue wants to see the port bring even more jobs to the state.

She says, ‘I’ve just come back from China where we had meetings about buying North Carolina produce, food and meat and the Commissioner has been to China, we have aggressively entered the global market for agriculture and that means business for North Carolina’s ports.“ 

And as North Carolina works to recover from the recession, the Governor is pushing education.
She believes, “We have each got to understand that we have a group of workers in North Carolina that are out of step with how the country and the world are changing. They need to fundamentally go back to school and learn technology skills of some sort.”

And she may have a point. She says over the next decade, 78% of businesses will demand workers who are up to date on technology.
When it comes to natural rubber imports, Morehead City ranks second in the nation.