
Economic contribution of the North Carolina forest sector, 2019 1.
International exports from the North Carolina forest sector totaled about $1. Compared to 2018, both state and local taxes and federal taxes increased by 3.2 percent and 3.0 percent, respectively. The forest sector in North Carolina directly generated about $ 266.8 million in state and local taxes and $ 874.5 million in federal taxes. On average, every dollar generated in the forest sector contributed an additional 62 cents to the rest of the North Carolina economy. Every job created in the forest sector resulted in another 1. The forest sector continued to be the top employer among manufacturing sectors in the state. The total value added - equivalent to the gross domestic product - grew 2.3 percent to $13.5 million, mainly in secondary solid wood and primary paper and paperboard industries. Logging and primary solid wood mills lost about 5,000 jobs collectively. Compared to 2018, total economic output in 2019 was up 4.0 percent, but total employment dropped 1.6 percent.
Including direct, indirect, and induced effects, the forest sector in North Carolina had a total contribution of $34.9 billion in industry output to the North Carolina economy, supporting more than 148,000 full-time and part-time jobs with a payroll of about $8.The forest sector employed over 73,600 people with a payroll of $4.3 billion and a value added (gross state product) of $6.3 billion. In 2019, the forest sector in North Carolina - including forestry and logging operations, sawmills, furniture mills, and pulp and paper industries - directly contributed $21.6 billion in industry output, which was nearly 2 percent of the state wide economic output.North Carolina has about 18.1 million acres of timberland covering approximately 58 percent of the state’s total land area.