NC unemployment rate falls to 3.5% in August - The North State Journal

RALEIGH — North Carolina’s unemployment rate edged lower in August as employers added jobs across several major industries, even as the number of people working declined slightly, according to new figures from the North Carolina Department of Commerce. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 3.5% in August, down one-tenth of a percentage point from July’s revised rate. The national unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%. North Carolina’s unemployment rate remained below the national rate by six-tenths of a percentage point, widening from a four-tenths gap in August 2025. North Carolina’s rate was also down from 3.9% in August 2025, a decline of four-tenths of a percentage point over the year.