Counties with the highest unemployment rate in North Carolina
Counties with the highest unemployment rate in North Carolina
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.
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#50. Duplin County
--- 1 month change: +0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
-Total Labor Force: 24,384 (998 unemployed)
#49. Lenoir County
--- 1 month change: +0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.5%
-Total Labor Force: 27,132 (1,114 unemployed)

#48. Alleghany County
--- 1 month change: +0.3%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
-Total Labor Force: 4,427 (182 unemployed)
#47. Polk County
--- 1 month change: +0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
-Total Labor Force: 9,435 (388 unemployed)
#46. Gaston County
--- 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
--- 1 month change: +0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.4%
-Total Labor Force: 41,301 (1,713 unemployed)

#44. Forsyth County
--- 1 month change: +0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.4%
-Total Labor Force: 187,620 (7,788 unemployed)
#43. Alamance County
--- 1 month change: +0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.3%
-Total Labor Force: 83,106 (3,452 unemployed)
#42. Sampson County
--- 1 month change: +0.6%
--- 1 year change: -0.9%
-Total Labor Force: 28,176 (1,175 unemployed)

#41. Beaufort County
--- 1 month change: +0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
-Total Labor Force: 20,107 (856 unemployed)
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#40. Wilkes County
--- 1 month change: +0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.3%
-Total Labor Force: 26,917 (1,165 unemployed)
#39. Caswell County
--- 1 month change: +0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.7%
-Total Labor Force: 9,816 (428 unemployed)
#38. Cleveland County
--- 1 month change: +0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.6%
-Total Labor Force: 48,607 (2,125 unemployed)
#37. Wayne County
--- 1 month change: +0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.3%
-Total Labor Force: 51,804 (2,275 unemployed)
#36. Chowan County
--- 1 month change: +0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.1%
-Total Labor Force: 5,773 (256 unemployed)
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#35. Lee County
--- 1 month change: +0.3%
--- 1 year change: -1.7%
-Total Labor Force: 26,298 (1,193 unemployed)

#34. Pitt County
--- 1 month change: +0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
-Total Labor Force: 88,225 (4,036 unemployed)
#33. Mitchell County
--- 1 month change: +0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
-Total Labor Force: 5,975 (274 unemployed)
#32. Rockingham County
--- 1 month change: +0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.8%
-Total Labor Force: 39,657 (1,820 unemployed)

#31. Clay County
--- 1 month change: +0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
-Total Labor Force: 4,031 (185 unemployed)
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#30. Cherokee County
--- 1 month change: +0.8%
--- 1 year change: -1.3%
-Total Labor Force: 11,024 (509 unemployed)
#29. Harnett County
--- 1 month change: +0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.5%
-Total Labor Force: 54,651 (2,527 unemployed)

#28. Guilford County
--- 1 month change: +0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.8%
-Total Labor Force: 261,445 (12,096 unemployed)

#27. Onslow County
--- 1 month change: +0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.3%
-Total Labor Force: 67,379 (3,192 unemployed)

#26. Pasquotank County
--- 1 month change: +0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.3%
-Total Labor Force: 16,653 (806 unemployed)
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#25. Martin County
--- 1 month change: +0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.4%
-Total Labor Force: 8,628 (419 unemployed)
#24. Perquimans County
--- 1 month change: +0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.2%
-Total Labor Force: 4,972 (243 unemployed)

#23. Hyde County
--- 1 month change: -0.2%
--- 1 year change: -1.0%
-Total Labor Force: 1,980 (98 unemployed)

#22. Tyrrell County
--- 1 month change: +0.1%
--- 1 year change: -1.7%
-Total Labor Force: 1,444 (72 unemployed)
#21. Bladen County
--- 1 month change: +0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.5%
-Total Labor Force: 14,130 (706 unemployed)
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#20. Columbus County
--- 1 month change: +0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.8%
-Total Labor Force: 23,380 (1,200 unemployed)

#19. Brunswick County
--- 1 month change: +0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.5%
-Total Labor Force: 58,294 (3,003 unemployed)
#18. Northampton County
--- 1 month change: +0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.8%
-Total Labor Force: 7,212 (375 unemployed)
#17. Anson County
--- 1 month change: +0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.5%
-Total Labor Force: 10,193 (545 unemployed)
#16. Bertie County
--- 1 month change: +0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.7%
-Total Labor Force: 7,359 (397 unemployed)
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#15. Hoke County
--- 1 month change: +0.7%
--- 1 year change: -1.7%
-Total Labor Force: 20,513 (1,139 unemployed)

#14. Rutherford County
--- 1 month change: +0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.7%
-Total Labor Force: 24,701 (1,388 unemployed)

#13. Graham County
--- 1 month change: +0.4%
--- 1 year change: -1.5%
-Total Labor Force: 3,099 (177 unemployed)
#12. Washington County
--- 1 month change: +0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.6%
-Total Labor Force: 4,415 (254 unemployed)
#11. Hertford County
--- 1 month change: +0.7%
--- 1 year change: -1.9%
-Total Labor Force: 8,504 (494 unemployed)
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#10. Nash County
--- 1 month change: +0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.4%
-Total Labor Force: 41,923 (2,449 unemployed)

#9. Cumberland County
--- 1 month change: +0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.8%
-Total Labor Force: 129,292 (7,670 unemployed)
#8. Wilson County
--- 1 month change: +0.5%
--- 1 year change: -1.5%
-Total Labor Force: 33,232 (2,011 unemployed)
#7. Richmond County
--- 1 month change: +0.6%
--- 1 year change: -1.9%
-Total Labor Force: 16,620 (1,019 unemployed)
#6. Halifax County
--- 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
--- 1 month change: +0.7%
--- 1 year change: -1.7%
-Total Labor Force: 48,639 (3,194 unemployed)

#4. Vance County
--- 1 month change: +0.6%
--- 1 year change: -2.0%
-Total Labor Force: 16,925 (1,155 unemployed)
#3. Warren County
--- 1 month change: +0.8%
--- 1 year change: -1.4%
-Total Labor Force: 6,594 (460 unemployed)
#2. Scotland County
--- 1 month change: +0.6%
--- 1 year change: -2.4%
-Total Labor Force: 11,183 (882 unemployed)
#1. Edgecombe County
--- 1 month change: +0.8%
--- 1 year change: -1.3%
-Total Labor Force: 20,202 (1,609 unemployed)
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