While Wilkes County has in the recent past experienced employment losses in some mature industries due to global competition, those losses have been minimal when compared to some of Wilkes’ neighboring counties. As the result, Wilkes’ labor force is enhanced by those displaced workers in other surrounding counties. In addition, stable, “home-grown” companies such as Lowe’s Home Improvements, Tyson, ECMD, Jeld-Wen, and others already attract workers from a wide region.