NORTH CAROLINA (STACKER) — Unemployment rates, while significantly lower than the alarming pandemic peak of 14.7% experienced in April 2020, remain a subject of concern, notably as economic experts bandy around the idea of a potential recession by 2023.
The last economic recession — the Great Recession of 2008-2010 — sent rates up to 10% as of October 2009. It was not until the spring of 2019 that unemployment finally went down to the same level it sits at now.
As of June of this year, national unemployment is at 3.5%, 0.1% lower than in May, marking a three-month stagnation — following a steady drop since that aforementioned COVID-affected peak.
Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates by state demonstrate a rather sizable spectrum, ranging from just 1.8% in Minnesota, to 4.9% in New Mexico and 5.5% in the District of Columbia. Further breakdown by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows yet another county-based spectrum within each state.
To that end, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rate in North Carolina using data from the BLS. Counties are ranked by unemployment rate in June 2022, which as of this writing is the most current Bureau data.
#50. Duplin County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.1%
— 1 month change: +0.5%
— 1 year change: -1.1%
-Total Labor Force: 24,384 (998 unemployed)
#49. Lenoir County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.1%
— 1 month change: +0.4%
— 1 year change: -1.5%
-Total Labor Force: 27,132 (1,114 unemployed)
#48. Alleghany County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.1%
— 1 month change: +0.3%
— 1 year change: -1.1%
-Total Labor Force: 4,427 (182 unemployed)
#47. Polk County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.1%
— 1 month change: +0.4%
— 1 year change: -1.1%
-Total Labor Force: 9,435 (388 unemployed)
#46. Gaston County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.1%
— 1 month change: +0.3%
— 1 year change: -1.8%
-Total Labor Force: 114,364 (4,741 unemployed)
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#45. Moore County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.1%
— 1 month change: +0.4%
— 1 year change: -1.4%
-Total Labor Force: 41,301 (1,713 unemployed)
#44. Forsyth County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.2%
— 1 month change: +0.5%
— 1 year change: -1.4%
-Total Labor Force: 187,620 (7,788 unemployed)
#43. Alamance County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.2%
— 1 month change: +0.5%
— 1 year change: -1.3%
-Total Labor Force: 83,106 (3,452 unemployed)
#42. Sampson County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.2%
— 1 month change: +0.6%
— 1 year change: -0.9%
-Total Labor Force: 28,176 (1,175 unemployed)
#41. Beaufort County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.3%
— 1 month change: +0.5%
— 1 year change: -1.1%
-Total Labor Force: 20,107 (856 unemployed)
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#40. Wilkes County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.3%
— 1 month change: +0.5%
— 1 year change: -1.3%
-Total Labor Force: 26,917 (1,165 unemployed)
#39. Caswell County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.4%
— 1 month change: +0.5%
— 1 year change: -1.7%
-Total Labor Force: 9,816 (428 unemployed)
#38. Cleveland County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.4%
— 1 month change: +0.4%
— 1 year change: -1.6%
-Total Labor Force: 48,607 (2,125 unemployed)
#37. Wayne County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.4%
— 1 month change: +0.4%
— 1 year change: -1.3%
-Total Labor Force: 51,804 (2,275 unemployed)
#36. Chowan County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.4%
— 1 month change: +0.5%
— 1 year change: -1.1%
-Total Labor Force: 5,773 (256 unemployed)
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#35. Lee County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.5%
— 1 month change: +0.3%
— 1 year change: -1.7%
-Total Labor Force: 26,298 (1,193 unemployed)
#34. Pitt County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.6%
— 1 month change: +0.6%
— 1 year change: -1.2%
-Total Labor Force: 88,225 (4,036 unemployed)
#33. Mitchell County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.6%
— 1 month change: +0.5%
— 1 year change: -1.2%
-Total Labor Force: 5,975 (274 unemployed)
#32. Rockingham County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.6%
— 1 month change: +0.5%
— 1 year change: -1.8%
-Total Labor Force: 39,657 (1,820 unemployed)
#31. Clay County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.6%
— 1 month change: +0.6%
— 1 year change: -1.2%
-Total Labor Force: 4,031 (185 unemployed)
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#30. Cherokee County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.6%
— 1 month change: +0.8%
— 1 year change: -1.3%
-Total Labor Force: 11,024 (509 unemployed)
#29. Harnett County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.6%
— 1 month change: +0.5%
— 1 year change: -1.5%
-Total Labor Force: 54,651 (2,527 unemployed)
#28. Guilford County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.6%
— 1 month change: +0.5%
— 1 year change: -1.8%
-Total Labor Force: 261,445 (12,096 unemployed)
#27. Onslow County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.7%
— 1 month change: +0.5%
— 1 year change: -1.3%
-Total Labor Force: 67,379 (3,192 unemployed)
#26. Pasquotank County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.8%
— 1 month change: +0.6%
— 1 year change: -1.3%
-Total Labor Force: 16,653 (806 unemployed)
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#25. Martin County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.9%
— 1 month change: +0.5%
— 1 year change: -1.4%
-Total Labor Force: 8,628 (419 unemployed)
#24. Perquimans County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.9%
— 1 month change: +0.6%
— 1 year change: -1.2%
-Total Labor Force: 4,972 (243 unemployed)
#23. Hyde County
– Current Unemployment rate: 4.9%
— 1 month change: -0.2%
— 1 year change: -1.0%
-Total Labor Force: 1,980 (98 unemployed)
#22. Tyrrell County
– Current Unemployment rate: 5.0%
— 1 month change: +0.1%
— 1 year change: -1.7%
-Total Labor Force: 1,444 (72 unemployed)
#21. Bladen County
– Current Unemployment rate: 5.0%
— 1 month change: +0.5%
— 1 year change: -1.5%
-Total Labor Force: 14,130 (706 unemployed)
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#20. Columbus County
– Current Unemployment rate: 5.1%
— 1 month change: +0.5%
— 1 year change: -1.8%
-Total Labor Force: 23,380 (1,200 unemployed)
#19. Brunswick County
– Current Unemployment rate: 5.2%
— 1 month change: +0.6%
— 1 year change: -1.5%
-Total Labor Force: 58,294 (3,003 unemployed)
#18. Northampton County
– Current Unemployment rate: 5.2%
— 1 month change: +0.6%
— 1 year change: -1.8%
-Total Labor Force: 7,212 (375 unemployed)
#17. Anson County
– Current Unemployment rate: 5.3%
— 1 month change: +0.6%
— 1 year change: -1.5%
-Total Labor Force: 10,193 (545 unemployed)
#16. Bertie County
– Current Unemployment rate: 5.4%
— 1 month change: +0.5%
— 1 year change: -1.7%
-Total Labor Force: 7,359 (397 unemployed)
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#15. Hoke County
– Current Unemployment rate: 5.6%
— 1 month change: +0.7%
— 1 year change: -1.7%
-Total Labor Force: 20,513 (1,139 unemployed)
#14. Rutherford County
– Current Unemployment rate: 5.6%
— 1 month change: +0.6%
— 1 year change: -1.7%
-Total Labor Force: 24,701 (1,388 unemployed)
#13. Graham County
– Current Unemployment rate: 5.7%
— 1 month change: +0.4%
— 1 year change: -1.5%
-Total Labor Force: 3,099 (177 unemployed)
#12. Washington County
– Current Unemployment rate: 5.8%
— 1 month change: +0.6%
— 1 year change: -1.6%
-Total Labor Force: 4,415 (254 unemployed)
#11. Hertford County
– Current Unemployment rate: 5.8%
— 1 month change: +0.7%
— 1 year change: -1.9%
-Total Labor Force: 8,504 (494 unemployed)
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#10. Nash County
– Current Unemployment rate: 5.8%
— 1 month change: +0.6%
— 1 year change: -1.4%
-Total Labor Force: 41,923 (2,449 unemployed)
#9. Cumberland County
– Current Unemployment rate: 5.9%
— 1 month change: +0.6%
— 1 year change: -1.8%
-Total Labor Force: 129,292 (7,670 unemployed)
#8. Wilson County
– Current Unemployment rate: 6.1%
— 1 month change: +0.5%
— 1 year change: -1.5%
-Total Labor Force: 33,232 (2,011 unemployed)
#7. Richmond County
– Current Unemployment rate: 6.1%
— 1 month change: +0.6%
— 1 year change: -1.9%
-Total Labor Force: 16,620 (1,019 unemployed)
#6. Halifax County
– Current Unemployment rate: 6.5%
— 1 month change: +0.7%
— 1 year change: -1.6%
-Total Labor Force: 19,233 (1,256 unemployed)
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#5. Robeson County
– Current Unemployment rate: 6.6%
— 1 month change: +0.7%
— 1 year change: -1.7%
-Total Labor Force: 48,639 (3,194 unemployed)
#4. Vance County
– Current Unemployment rate: 6.8%
— 1 month change: +0.6%
— 1 year change: -2.0%
-Total Labor Force: 16,925 (1,155 unemployed)
#3. Warren County
– Current Unemployment rate: 7.0%
— 1 month change: +0.8%
— 1 year change: -1.4%
-Total Labor Force: 6,594 (460 unemployed)
#2. Scotland County
– Current Unemployment rate: 7.9%
— 1 month change: +0.6%
— 1 year change: -2.4%
-Total Labor Force: 11,183 (882 unemployed)
#1. Edgecombe County
– Current Unemployment rate: 8.0%
— 1 month change: +0.8%
— 1 year change: -1.3%
-Total Labor Force: 20,202 (1,609 unemployed)
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