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These NC counties have the highest unemployment rates

As of April 2023, national unemployment is at 3.4%, with little change from March. Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates in North Carolina using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Posted 2023-06-14T17:00:25+00:00 - Updated 2023-06-14T20:43:53+00:00

A construction site for a new high-rise building in Miami Beach, Fla., Jan. 11, 2023. Despite hopeful signs, like more people working and signs that inflation is dissipating, economists worry that a recession is on the way or that the Federal Reserve will cause one in trying to rein in inflation. (Scott McIntyre/The New York Times)

Stacker

Unemployment rates, while significantly lower than the alarming pandemic peak of 14.7% experienced in April 2020, remain a subject of concern, though experts' views on a potential recession are mixed. The last economic recession—the Great Recession of 2007-2009—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 April 2023, national unemployment is at 3.4%, with little change from March. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates by state demonstrate a rather sizable spectrum</a>, ranging from just 1.9% in South Dakota to 5.4% in Nevada.

Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates in North Carolina using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Counties are ranked by their preliminary unemployment rate in March 2023, with initial ties broken by the number of unemployed people within that county, though some ties may remain.

#50. Rowan County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.5%
--- 1 month change: No change
--- 1 year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 68,861 people (2,385 unemployed)

#49. Gaston County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.5%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Down 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 116,619 people (4,128 unemployed)

#48. Forsyth County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.5%
--- 1 month change: No change
--- 1 year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 191,657 people (6,789 unemployed)

#47. Mecklenburg County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.5%
--- 1 month change: No change
--- 1 year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 663,828 people (23,355 unemployed)

#46. Alleghany County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,644 people (168 unemployed)

#45. Mitchell County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Down 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,147 people (220 unemployed)

#44. Wilkes County
-- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 27,070 people (980 unemployed)

#43. Franklin County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 34,540 people (1,256 unemployed)

#42. Craven County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 42,435 people (1,536 unemployed)

#41. Cleveland County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1 month change: No change
--- 1 year change: Down 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 50,219 people (1,804 unemployed)

#40. Alamance County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.6%
--- 1 month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 84,047 people (3,020 unemployed)

#39. Caswell County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.7%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
--- 1 year change: No change
- Total labor force: 9,773 people (359 unemployed)

#38. Chowan County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1 month change: Up 0.2 percentage points
--- 1 year change: No change
- Total labor force: 5,957 people (228 unemployed)

#37. Cherokee County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
--- 1 year change: No change
- Total labor force: 11,366 people (430 unemployed)

#36. Wayne County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.8%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1 year change: No change
- Total labor force: 51,368 people (1,955 unemployed)

#35. Anson County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Down 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 10,424 people (409 unemployed)

#34. Jackson County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1 month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 19,611 people (766 unemployed)

#33. Columbus County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Down 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 24,461 people (959 unemployed)

#32. Lee County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1 month change: No change
--- 1 year change: Down 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 26,677 people (1,048 unemployed)

#31. Harnett County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 3.9%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 55,993 people (2,211 unemployed)

#30. Beaufort County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4%
--- 1 month change: No change
--- 1 year change: Up 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 20,319 people (805 unemployed)

#29. Rockingham County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 39,827 people (1,604 unemployed)

#28. Onslow County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 70,326 people (2,792 unemployed)

#27. Pitt County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4%
--- 1 month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 89,346 people (3,570 unemployed)

#26. Guilford County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4%
--- 1 month change: No change
--- 1 year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 262,286 people (10,440 unemployed)

#25. Perquimans County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.1%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Down 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,052 people (205 unemployed)

#24. Bladen County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.2%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 15,099 people (639 unemployed)

#23. Martin County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.3%
--- 1 month change: No change
--- 1 year change: Down 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,715 people (372 unemployed)

#22. Pasquotank County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.3%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.5 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 16,978 people (729 unemployed)

#21. Bertie County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.4%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Down 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,236 people (318 unemployed)

#20. Graham County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.5%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.5 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Down 1.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,908 people (131 unemployed)

#19. Brunswick County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.5%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.4 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Down 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 57,812 people (2,590 unemployed)

#18. Northampton County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.6%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Down 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 7,350 people (340 unemployed)

#17. Hoke County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.6%
--- 1 month change: No change
--- 1 year change: No change
- Total labor force: 20,289 people (942 unemployed)

#16. Rutherford County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.6%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 24,989 people (1,148 unemployed)

#15. Richmond County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.7%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Down 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 17,187 people (814 unemployed)

#14. Nash County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.8%
--- 1 month change: No change
--- 1 year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 42,475 people (2,022 unemployed)

#13. Washington County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.9%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.5 percentage points
--- 1 year change: No change
- Total labor force: 4,273 people (208 unemployed)

#12. Hertford County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.9%
--- 1 month change: Up 0.1 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,588 people (421 unemployed)

#11. Robeson County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 5%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Down 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 48,575 people (2,453 unemployed)

#10. Cumberland County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 5%
--- 1 month change: No change
--- 1 year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 127,784 people (6,370 unemployed)

#9. Halifax County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Down 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 19,412 people (998 unemployed)

#8. Wilson County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.1%
--- 1 month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 34,150 people (1,729 unemployed)

#7. Dare County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.4%
--- 1 month change: Down 1.8 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Down 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 18,637 people (1,007 unemployed)

#6. Vance County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.6%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1 year change: No change
- Total labor force: 16,911 people (951 unemployed)

#5. Warren County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.7%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Down 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 6,384 people (365 unemployed)

#4. Edgecombe County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 6%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.1 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Down 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 20,305 people (1,214 unemployed)

#3. Scotland County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.4%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Down 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 11,441 people (735 unemployed)

#2. Tyrrell County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.9%
--- 1 month change: Down 0.3 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Up 1.0 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,270 people (87 unemployed)

#1. Hyde County
- March unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.8%
--- 1 month change: Down 1.8 percentage points
--- 1 year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,718 people (152 unemployed)