Hot off the presses! From Raleigh to Charlotte, every region tells a story. Find out which metros are leading in job growth, wages, and housing trends.
DMJPS CPAs + Advisors is pleased to provide the third quarter 2025 economic update across North Carolina’s fifteen metro areas.
While select indicators point to moderating growth --- including a slower pace of home price appreciation --- the state’s economy continued to expand, supported by broad-based job gains, rising wages, and strong consumer spending. Labor market and wage trends varied across metros, suggesting both statewide strength and regional differences.
Dive into the full reportfor metro-by-metro trends and what’s driving growth.
Highlights:
In the third quarter of 2025, North Carolina’s employment averaged 5,085,300 jobs, a year-over-year increase of 86,300 jobs that exceeded the gain recorded in the third quarter of 2024.
Third quarter employment gains were led by the Charlotte and Winston-Salem metros, each posting year-over-year growth exceeding two percent.
By industry, Education and Health Services led job growth in the third quarter, adding an estimated 23,300 jobs year-over-year.
North Carolina’s unemployment rate averaged 3.8 percent in the third quarter, representing approximately 203,869 unemployed individuals, an increase of 2.6 percent from a year earlier.
Among the state’s fifteen metros, Raleigh posted the lowest unemployment rate at 3.3 percent, while Rocky Mount recorded the highest rate at 5.3 percent.
The state’s average hourly wage in the third quarter was $34.03, up 4.2 percent year-over-year, with Raleigh leading the metros at $36.88.
Taxable retail sales in North Carolina totaled nearly $64 billion in the third quarter, a notable 6.8 percent increase year-over-year.
Special feature, North Carolina Marital Status by Sex: In North Carolina, a slight majority of males were married compared to females, while females accounted for a somewhat higher share of adults who were widowed, divorced, or separated in 2023. Differences in marital status by sex may help inform household composition characteristics and related service demand.
Detailed Analysis: Employment
In the third quarter of 2025, North Carolina’s employment averaged 5,085,300 jobs, a 1.7 percent increase year-over-year. The state’s employment growth exceeded the national rate of 0.8 percent and has outpaced national growth for three consecutive quarters (Figure 1).
Figure 1 North Carolina Total Nonfarm Employment Monthly Year-to-Year Percent Change
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics All Employees,Total Nonfarm, retrieved from Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Four of North Carolina’s fifteen metro areas exceeded the state’s year-over-year employment growth rate of 1.7 percent: Charlotte (2.7 percent), Winston-Salem (2.3 percent), Durham–Chapel Hill (1.9 percent), and Greenville (1.8 percent) (Figure 2). The Asheville metro was the only metro to post a third-quarter year-over-year employment decline (-0.1 percent)....READ MORE
Preparing Today for Tomorrow: Aligning Business Value and Exit Plans
Date: Thursday,
February 19, 2026
Time: 2 - 3 PM
Presented via Zoom
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