Unemployment fell in 96 of North Carolina’s 100 counties, according to the latest figures from the North Carolina Department of Commerce for the month of December. Ninety counties recorded an unemployment rate under 5%. Compared to a year prior, most counties are at or below their 2021 figures. The statewide rate decreased to 3.2%.
In Eastern North Carolina, Tyrell County reported the state’s highest unemployment rate at 7.1%, while Greene County reported the lowest in the state at 2.5%. The state added 2,600 jobs in December, continuing a statewide and national trend of an increasingly competitive labor market. Despite a bout of tech layoffs early this year, the U.S. added jobs half a million jobs in January, more than doubling some economists' forecasts.
