Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) increased in all 100 of North Carolina’s counties in January. Scotland County had the highest unemployment rate at 8.1 percent while Orange County had the lowest at 2.6 percent. All fifteen of the state’s metro areas experienced rate increases. Among the metro areas, Rocky Mount had the highest rate at 6.0 percent while Durham-Chapel Hill had the lowest at 3.0 percent. The January not seasonally adjusted statewide rate was 3.8 percent.
| Counties with Rates 5% or Below | Counties with Rates Between 5% and 10% | Counties with Rates Above 10% | |
| January 2022 | 78 | 22 | 0 |
| December 2021(revised) | 90 | 10 | 0 |
When compared to the same month last year, not seasonally adjusted unemployment rates decreased in all 100 counties. All 15 of the state’s metro areas experienced rate decreases over the year.
The number of workers employed statewide (not seasonally adjusted) decreased in January by 17,221 to 4,815,473, while those unemployed increased by 28,831 to 189,501. Since January 2021, the number of workers employed statewide increased 251,045, while those unemployed decreased 96,959.
It is important to note that employment estimates are subject to large seasonal patterns; therefore, it is advisable to focus on over-the-year changes in the not seasonally adjusted estimates.
The next unemployment update is scheduled for Friday, March 25, 2022 when the state unemployment rate for February 2022 will be released.
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Note to Editors: Supplemental data for this release, currently published in Adobe PDF format, is now available via a live online dashboard. The PDF version of this data report will soon be discontinued. Contact Commerce Communications for further information on this pending change.