Semiconductor Workforce Landscape in the U.S., Southeast Region, and North Carolina

Abstract

The Commercial Leap Ahead for Wide Bandgap Semiconductors (CLAWS) Hub, led by North
Carolina State University with North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and
Central Carolina Community College, is a component of the national Microelectronics (ME)
Commons program. The ME Commons aims to bring cutting-edge laboratory research in
semiconductor technologies to the market to strengthen domestic value chains and impact
critical industries such as energy, military and defense, transportation, electronics, and
emerging needs in quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and data centers.
As a partner of the CLAWS Hub, RTI International (RTI) conducted a scan of the state of
workforce and ecosystem assets for semiconductor manufacturing in the southeastern United
States and in North Carolina, looking broadly at the concentration of jobs and industry presence
in semiconductors and related industries in the value chain. The data show that while the
Southeast does not have the concentrated presence of semiconductor manufacturing seen in
other parts of the country, there are important assets for upstream research and development
(R&D) and downstream manufacturing industries in the region and opportunities to expand both
the workforce pipeline and industry base in the value chain in the region.
The nine states that make up the study area supported 38,680 jobs in semiconductor and
electronic components manufacturing in 2023, or 10% of the national total. However, the total
ecosystem—including upstream and downstream manufacturing industries—employed a total of
nearly 265,000 people, plus an additional 136,000 in R&D. States in the Southeast including
North Carolina are home to large and concentrated workforces in R&D services, while others
have strong concentrations of downstream manufacturing industries such as electrical
equipment manufacturing