North Carolina’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for May 2025 remained at 3.7 percent, consistent with April’s revised rate. The national unemployment rate also held steady at 4.2 percent.
Compared to a year ago, North Carolina’s unemployment rate saw an increase of 0.1 percentage points. Employment figures in the state showed a decrease of 5,637 people over the month, totaling 5,092,894 employed individuals, and a decrease of 4,394 from the previous year. The number of unemployed rose by 284 over the month to reach 196,576 and increased by 6,683 over the year.
The state’s Total Nonfarm employment experienced a slight rise of 400 jobs in May according to the monthly establishment survey. Industries that saw job increases included Construction with an addition of 1,600 jobs; Trade, Transportation & Utilities with 1,300; Government with 300; Leisure & Hospitality Services with 100; and Private Education & Health Services also with an increase of 100 jobs. Conversely, declines were observed in Professional & Business Services which lost 2,200 jobs; Manufacturing down by 400; Information reduced by 200; Financial Activities decreased by 100; and Other Services also down by 100 jobs. Employment in Mining & Logging remained stable.
From May 2024 to May 2025, Total Nonfarm employment grew by 67,900 positions overall. This includes an increase of 54,600 jobs in the Total Private sector and a rise of 13,300 in Government employment. Significant growth was recorded in industries such as Private Education & Health Services (18,100); Professional & Business Services (15,500); Government (13,300); Trade, Transportation & Utilities (13,200); Construction (7,900); Other Services (4,800); Financial Activities (1,300); and Mining & Logging (200). In contrast, Manufacturing saw a reduction of 5,400 jobs over the year along with decreases in Information (800) and Leisure & Hospitality Services (200).
The next update on unemployment rates is expected on Wednesday, July 2nd when county-level data for May will be released.
