Source: North Carolina Department of Commerce

The state’s seasonally adjusted August 2023 unemployment rate was 3.8%, an increasing 0.1 of a percentage point from July’s revised rate. The national rate decreased 0.1 of a percentage point to 4.2%.

North Carolina’s unemployment rate increased 0.3 of a percentage point from a year ago. The number of people employed decreased 6,456 over the month to 5,067,497 and increased 2,428 over the year. The number of people unemployed increased 4,127 over the month to 199,637 and increased 16,115 over the year.

Big picture

North Carolina employers added jobs in August, but the number of employed North Carolinians declined. The number of jobs and the number of employed people are estimated by two different programs at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Current Employment Statistics (CES) and Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS). The CES and LAUS numbers are estimated using different methodologies, and while these estimates are highly correlated in the long-run, they can sometimes diverge from each other in the short-run. Overall, the labor market continues to cool and the broader economy continues to slow, proceeding along the path of gradual softening we’ve seen emerge over the past two years.

The numbers  

Seasonally adjusted Total Nonfarm employment, as gathered through the monthly establishment survey, increased 4,700 to 5,025,200 in August. Major industries experiencing increases were Construction, 1,800; Leisure & Hospitality Services, 1,800; Information, 1,000; Government, 900; Education & Health Services, 400; and Professional & Business Services, 300. Major industries experiencing decreases were Other Services, 500; Trade, Transportation & Utilities, 500; Manufacturing, 300; and Financial Activities, 200. Mining & Logging employment remained unchanged. 

Since August 2023, Total Nonfarm jobs increased 74,100 with the Total Private sector increasing by 57,300 and Government increasing by 16,800.

Major industries experiencing increases were Leisure & Hospitality Services, 22,500; Education & Health Services, 20,900; Government, 16,800; Construction, 9,200; Other Services, 5,000; Financial Activities, 4,500; and Professional & Business Services, 3,200.

Major industries experiencing decreases over the year were Trade, Transportation & Utilities, 4,900; Manufacturing, 2,400; Information, 600; and Mining & Logging, 100.