(The Center Square) – As 2025 draws to a close, North Carolina appears on track to finish the year with an unemployment rate that is better than the national average.
Statistics released by the state on Thursday showed North Carolina with an unemployment of 3.7% for September. That’s unchanged from the month before and once again lower than the national average of 4.4%.
North Carolina’s unemployment rate has been unchanged for the last year, holding steady at 3.7% for the 14th consecutive month, even as the national average has ticked up.
The national average unemployment rate in September 2024 was 4.1% but it increased to 4.3% in August and to 4.4% in September, according to the state.
“While we’ve faced some economic headwinds in areas recovering from Hurricane Helene, our unemployment rate overall remains low,” David Rhoades, spokesman for the North Carolina Department of Commerce, told TCS.
The employment numbers in North Carolina have remained steady even as national and international events have been turbulent, with a federal crackdown on illegal immigration in the United States and the imposition of tariffs on many products and countries.
The number of people employed in North Carolina increased 1,020 in September over August. For the past year, there has been a modest decrease of 306 in the number of people working.
The number of people who were unemployed increased in September by 2,954 and is up for the year by 2,499, according to the state.
From September 2024 through September of 2025, nonfarm jobs increased by 79,700. The private sector accounted for most of those gains, with private education and health care services, professional and business services and leisure and hospitality the top growth sectors.
Manufacturing dropped by 7,700 jobs over the year and information by 400, according to the state statistics.
The state is scheduled to release county by county unemployment rates next week.
As North Carolina has outperformed the nation on the employment front so far this year, it is on track for large job gains in the upcoming years, with a flurry of major industrial announcements this fall.
This year has been a record year for job commitments, with more than 33,000 announced, Gov. Josh Stein said in a recent release.
“Thanks to our skilled workforce, our business-friendly climate, and remarkable quality of life, North Carolina is the top state for business in the country,” Stein said in a statement. “We are hard at work to continue leading the way and living up to the promise in our state toast – North Carolina is the land where the weak grow strong and the strong grow great.”
