Labor Market Overview

The most recent labor market overview released by the NC Department of Commerce reflects data for the month of May.

Key data points for Wake County:

Unemployment rate: 3.0% – an increase of .2 from previous month /.4% less than the state/.6% less than the nation.
#Unemployed: 18.900 – up 1,534 over the previous month, down 6,579 from the previous year.
Total Labor Force: 622,065 – an increase of 1,735 over the previous month / up 32,128 over the previous year,

Two WARN notices have been received from Wake County businesses this year. Ametek and BASF laid off 167 employees combined.

Key data points for Johnston County:

Unemployment rate: 3.3% – an increase of .3 from the previous month / .1% less than the state / .3% less than the nation
#Unemployed: 3,495 – up 311 over the previous month, down 1,059 from the previous year
Total Labor Force: 106,736 – an increase of 447 over the previous month / up 12,595 over the previous year

Labor market overviews for all workforce development boards are available at https://analytics.nccommerce.com/Regional-Labor-Market-Overviews/