Governor Bev Perdue of North Carolina announced new state policies to encourage small business job creation at a recent speech in Raleigh.

The governor unveiled a new statewide small business technical assistance program designed to help small business owners gain access to credit and settle issues related to staffing and cost management. She also proposed special tax incentives for small firms that start and operate in North Carolina. Ninety-eight percent of North Carolina firms are small businesses, the governor noted.

"We must grow our own jobs and invest in our own businesses. We must strengthen the heart and soul of North Carolina's economy: innovation and small business," Perdue said.

The proposed small business technical assistance program, called Biz Boost, was piloted in Charlotte by the Department of Commerce and the North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center.

Unemployment in North Carolina currently stands at 10.8 percent, nearly 1 percentage point higher than the national average. The strength of the small business sector is often cited as one of the main underlying factors for unemployment rates. Sixty-five percent of all new jobs are created by small businesses, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.