Special to Iredell Free News

RALEIGH — The State of North Carolina’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for December 2022 was 3.9 percent, unchanged from November’s revised rate. The national rate decreased 0.1 of a percentage point to 3.5 percent.

North Carolina’s unemployment rate decreased 0.2 of a percentage point from a year ago. The number of people employed decreased 2,447 over the month to 4,923,281 and increased 138,612 over the year. The number of people unemployed increased 486 over the month to 200,940 and decreased 6,123 over the year.

Seasonally adjusted Total Nonfarm employment, as gathered through the monthly establishment survey, increased 5,400 to 4,846,400 in December. Major industries experiencing increases were Leisure & Hospitality Services, 4,900; Other Services, 1,100; Construction, 900; Education & Health Services, 300; and Professional & Business Services, 100. Major industries experiencing decreases were Trade, Transportation & Utilities, 700; Manufacturing, 600; Government, 500; and Mining & Logging, 100. Information and Financial Activities employment remained unchanged.

Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment Rates since December 2021

Since December 2021, Total Nonfarm jobs increased 190,300 with the Total Private sector increasing by 175,300 and Government increasing by 15,000. Major industries experiencing increases were Professional & Business Services, 47,100; Leisure & Hospitality Services, 46,100; Education & Health Services, 29,800; Government, 15,000; Financial Activities, 13,600; Construction, 11,000; Other Services, 9,100; Manufacturing, 9,000; Trade, Transportation & Utilities, 6,800; and Information, 2,900. The only major industry experiencing a decrease over the year was Mining & Logging, 100.