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 is pleased to provide the second quarter 2025 economic update across North Carolina’s fifteen metro areas.
Despite signs of moderating growth in some indicators, the state’s economy continues to show steady expansion, marked by broad-based job gains, low unemployment rates, rising wages, and strong consumer spending. Population dynamics further reinforce North Carolina’s economic strengths, with a diverse age distribution supporting workforce depth and long-term growth.
Dive into the full reportfor metro-by-metro trends and what’s driving growth.
Highlights:
In the second quarter of 2025, North Carolina’s employment averaged 5,107,500 jobs for an increase of 75,800 new jobs year-over-year.
Goldsboro, Charlotte, and Winston-Salem metros recorded the fastest year-over-year employment growth rates, each at 2.2 percent.
By major industry, second quarter employment gains continued to be led by Education and Health Services, with an estimated 20,700 new jobs added year-over-year.
North Carolina’s unemployment rate averaged 3.7 percent in the second quarter, translating to roughly 194,357 unemployed North Carolinians, an increase of 5.4 percent compared to the previous year.
Among the state’s fifteen metros, Rocky Mount posted the highest unemployment rate at 4.9 percent, while all metros remained below five percent.
The state’s average hourly wage in the second quarter was $33.67, up 4.2 percent year-over-year, with Raleigh leading the metros at $36.63.
Taxable retail sales in North Carolina totaled $63 billion in the second quarter, a robust 4.5 percent increase year-over-year.
Special feature, North Carolina Population Pyramid: In North Carolina, with a population of approximately 10.6 million in 2023, the population pyramid highlights a large share of young adults in their 20s, a sizable mid-career workforce, and notable numbers of residents age 65 and above. These combined strengths support the career ladder across a broad spectrum.
Detailed Analysis: Employment
North Carolina’s employment averaged 5,107,500 jobs in the second quarter of 2025, marking another record-high quarterly average. Employment grew 1.5 percent year-over-year, outpacing the national increase of 1.1 percent (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
Goldsboro, Charlotte, and Winston-Salem metros each posted the state’s fastest year-over-year employment growth at 2.2 percent (Figure 2). With the exception of Asheville — where recovery from Hurricane Helene continues — no metro lost jobs in the second quarter, though Fayetteville was unchanged. Four metros grew at a pace exceeding both the state and national averages while Durham-Chapel Hill effectively matched the statewide growth rate....READ MORE