North Carolina Economy Booming Despite Bathroom Boycotts

North Carolina's economy is booming despite liberal backlash over its controversial bathroom bill.

The state did miss out on a Bruce Springsteen concert, the NCAA championships and the NBA All-Star game due to liberal boycotts.

But according to Site Selection Magazine, North Carolina has set some new records when it comes to tourism, and business is strong overall.

Hotel businesses across the state have set records for 2016, according to the year-end hotel lodging report, issued by VisitNC.

The state also ranked fourth in the nation for attracting and expanding business. It's also number one in its region for drawing corporate facilities in the eight-state South Atlantic region.

Forbes and Site Selection Magazine even ranked North Carolina the No. 2 state for business climate.

Opponents of the bathroom law say the state would have done even better if it had not lost key sporting and concert events.

But Politifact reports that negative impact may have been negligible.

North Carolina's Republican Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest offered this assessment.

"If you look at the most extreme instances of economic impact, by the media and by the universities and the people who come out and say 'This is the impact,' that most extreme impact equates to one-tenth of 1 percent of our annual GDP," he said.

Politifact says that's true.

The fact-checking site also confirms that North Carolina has been creating roughly 1,600 new jobs every week.