North Carolina's April County and Area Employment Figures Released

—Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) decreased in 95 of North Carolina’s counties in April, increased in three, and remained unchanged in two.  Scotland County had the highest unemployment rate at 9.5 percent, while Buncombe County had the lowest at 3.7 percent.  Fourteen of the state’s metro areas experienced rate decreases and one remained unchanged. Among the Metro areas, Rocky Mount at 7.6 percent experienced the highest rate and Asheville had the lowest rate at 3.9 percent.  The April not seasonally adjusted statewide rate was 5.0 percent.

	Counties With Rates 5% or Below	Counties With Rates Between 5% and 10%	Counties With Rates 10% or Above
April	38	62	0
March (revised)	20	77	3

When compared to the same month last year, not seasonally adjusted unemployment rates decreased in 94 counties, increased in two, and remained unchanged in four.  All 15 metro areas experienced rate decreases over the year.

The number of workers employed statewide (not seasonally adjusted) decreased in April by 170 to 4,614,275 while those unemployed decreased 18,743 to 243,285.  Since April 2015, the number of workers employed statewide increased 106,280, while those unemployed decreased 16,928.

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, June 17, 2016 when the state unemployment rate for May 2016 will be released.

This information may be accessed on the Commerce website at nccommerce.com/lead