Unemployment in Wake County is among the lowest in the nation (3 percent), but the county ranks 95th out of the 100 largest U.S. metros for economic mobility—meaning nearly everyone has a job, but few people are moving up in the ranks. Wake Works, a new partnership between Wake Tech and the county government, hopes to change that. The program, which offers tuition-free trade education through a salaried apprenticeship program, aims to not only help residents get a foot in the door but also to take a step up the economic ladder.

State officials have asked RDU to postpone building a proposed perimeter fence, citing multiple concerns with the project, and said the state is interested in purchasing airport land. In a letter sent Wednesday to airport officials, an official with the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources says the department is interested in pursuing the purchase of airport property along the proposed fence line, which separates airport land from Umstead State Park.