The North Carolina Department of Commerce announced on April 8 that the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for January 2026 remained at 3.8 percent, the same as December’s revised figure. Nationally, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.1 percentage point to reach 4.3 percent.
The stability in North Carolina’s unemployment rate comes as employment figures show minor shifts over both the month and year. The number of employed individuals in the state fell by 3,494 during January to a total of 5,109,781 but rose by nearly 20,000 compared to a year ago. Meanwhile, the number of unemployed increased slightly by 96 over the month and was up by almost 2,900 from last year.
Total nonfarm employment in North Carolina increased by an estimated 5,200 jobs in January according to monthly establishment surveys. Sectors showing notable job gains included private education and health services with an increase of about 4,700 positions; construction added approximately 1,300 jobs; professional and business services grew by around 900; leisure and hospitality services gained roughly 800; government added about 300 positions; financial activities increased by around 200; mining and logging grew slightly with an additional hundred jobs; other services also saw a small gain of one hundred jobs.
Industries that experienced job losses for the month were information (down about 1,600), manufacturing (down approximately 1,400), and trade, transportation & utilities (down roughly two hundred).
Since January last year, total nonfarm jobs have risen by nearly forty-two thousand across North Carolina with increases seen mainly in private education & health services (up more than twenty-two thousand), leisure & hospitality services (up almost eleven thousand), construction (up just over ten thousand), professional & business services (up more than four thousand), financial activities (also up more than four thousand), government sector jobs rising as well as smaller gains in trade-related industries and mining/logging sectors. Manufacturing lost more than eleven thousand jobs while information shed over three thousand positions during this period.
The department noted that October data was unavailable due to a lapse in appropriations but confirmed that estimates are subject to revision each month or annually as needed.
The next update on county-level unemployment rates for January is scheduled for release on Thursday, April 16.
