Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) decreased in all 100 of North Carolina’s counties in August, according to the NC Department of Commerce. Statewide, the average unemployment rate was 6.8 percent, down from 8.8 percent in July. A year ago, in Aug. 2019, the jobless rate in North Carolina was 4.1 percent.
In August, Johnston’s jobless rate was 6.1 percent, down from 7.8 percent in July. In Aug. 2019, the unemployment rate was 3.9 percent in Johnston County. In August 2020, Wake County’s unemployment was at 6.0 percent, Wayne County 6.3 percent, Harnett 6.9 percent, Sampson 5.3 percent, Wilson 8.4 percent and Nash County 8.2 percent.
Scotland County had the highest August unemployment rate at 11.6 percent, while Camden and Watauga Counties each had the lowest at 4.6 percent. All 15 of the state’s metro areas experienced rate decreases. Among the metro areas, Fayetteville and Rocky Mount each had the highest rate at 9.1 percent and New Bern had the lowest at 5.9 percent.
The number of workers employed statewide (not seasonally adjusted) decreased in August by 22,848 to 4,485,131, while those unemployed decreased by 108,798 to 327,976. Since August 2019, the number of workers employed statewide decreased 379,491, while those unemployed increased 117,769.
