North Carolina’s state unemployment rate dropped to 3.6 percent in October, dipping below the national rate for the first time in over a year, according to the North Carolina Department of Commerce.
The state unemployment rate for October 2018 dropped 0.2 percentage points from the previous month. The national rate remained unchanged at 3.7 percent.
The highest over-the-month job increases for the state included industries such as leisure and hospitality services, adding 11,500 jobs since September 2018, and professional and business services, adding 7,000 jobs.
Industries experiencing decreases included government, which lost 2,300 jobs. Information lost 200 jobs, and mining and logging lost 100 jobs. Mining and logging is the only major industry in the state to experience a year-to-year decrease in total jobs since October 2017.
Over the past year, North Carolina has added 103,500 total nonfarm jobs, with the largest over-the-year increase in professional and business services.
The U.S. unemployment rate has hit record lows in recent months, and the state’s rate is approaching the same. The lowest monthly unemployment rate on record for the state is 3.0 percent, recorded in April 1999.
North Carolina isn’t the only state hovering near record-breaking rates. Other states in the region close to or meeting historic unemployment lows include:
- Tennessee, 3.7 percent;
- South Carolina, 3.3 percent;
- Georgia, 3.6 percent; and
- Virginia, 2.9 percent.
