RALEIGH — North Carolina’s seasonally adjusted May 2023 unemployment rate was 3.4%, remaining unchanged from April’s revised rate, according to the N.C. Department of Commerce. The national rate increased by 0.3 of a percentage point to 3.7%.
The state’s unemployment rate was unchanged from a year ago. The number of people employed increased by 20,351 over the month to 5,033,140 and increased by 42,690 over the past year.
The number of people unemployed decreased by 3,076 over the month to 175,754 and decreased 1,737 over the year.
Seasonally adjusted Total Nonfarm employment, as gathered through the monthly establishment survey, increased to 4,901,500 in May.
Major industries experiencing increases were leisure and hospitality services (4,300), professional and business services (3,200), trade, transportation and utilities (2,500), education and health services (1,200), government (700), information (200), and manufacturing (200).
Major industries experiencing decreases were construction (2,400), other services (2,200) and financial activities (1,300).
Despite coming in under the national average, the 3.4% rate ranks 32nd among the 50 states. The lowest rate is shared by three states, Nebraska, New Hampshire and South Dakota, at 1.9%.