Unemployment rates across North Carolina went up slightly between July and August, including on the Outer Banks, as some jobs started to be scaled back with the end of the high visitor season.
But local jobless figures showed a more than one percent improvement from the previous year.
Dare and Currituck had the region’s lowest rate of 3.4 percent. Washington County had the highest at 5.6 percent.
Just 4,114 were without a job in August from an eligible workforce of 97,112 in the 12-county area. In the Outer Banks counties of Currituck, Dare and Hyde, 1,332 people were unemployed out of a pool of 38,934 last month.
Tyrrell and Bertie had the biggest increase from July to August, up 0.5 percent each. Hertford County had the biggest drop for August between 2021 and 2022 at 1.5 percent.
The jobless rate increased in 98 of North Carolina’s counties in August and remained unchanged in two. Edgecombe County had the highest unemployment rate at 7.9 percent while Buncombe, Swain, and Chatham counties each had the lowest at 3.1 percent.
All fifteen of the state’s metro areas experienced rate increases. Among the metro areas, Rocky Mount had the highest rate at 6.5 percent while Asheville and Durham-Chapel Hill each had the lowest at 3.2 percent. The August not seasonally adjusted statewide rate was 3.9 percent.
When compared to the same month last year, not seasonally adjusted unemployment rates decreased in all 100 counties. All 15 of the state’s metro areas experienced rate decreases over the year.
The number of workers employed statewide (not seasonally adjusted) decreased in August by 52,600 to 4,914,946, while those unemployed increased by 9,779 to 199,869.
Since August 2021, the number of workers employed statewide increased 187,171, while those unemployed decreased 40,417.
