June 11. Unemployment claims in North Carolina last week were 8.28 percent lower than in the previous week and 10.78 percent lower than last year, according to WalletHub’s updated rankings for the States Where Unemployment Claims Are Increasing the Most.

In that regard, North Caroliina is near the bottom of the list, and that’s a very good thing.

According to the WalletHub survey, North Carolina ranked 42nd in Cumulative Unemployment Claims in 2024 vs. the same period last year.

In terms of Unemployment Claims per 100,000 People in Labor Force, North Carolina ranked 47th.

Not bad.

NC highlights

Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) decreased in all 100 of North Carolina’s counties in April 2024. Scotland County had the highest unemployment rate at 5.8 percent while Greene, Buncombe, and Ashe Counties each had the lowest at 2.6 percent. All fifteen of the state’s metro areas experienced rate decreases. Among the metro areas, Rocky Mount had the highest rate at 4.5 percent while Asheville had the lowest at 2.7 percent. Mecklenburg County’s unemployment rate was 3.30 percent.

Question

Is the hiring dynamic is currently tilted in the employees’ favor?

Answer

Flores-Lagunes

“It is true that, recently, the hiring dynamics were such that employees had more bargaining power than in the past. This has been good for employees as higher wages result from a higher bargaining power. Higher wages are welcome in the face of stagnant wage growth for several years despite growing profits. However, this situation has slowly changed as the economy decelerates due to higher interest rates.”

—Alfonso Flores-Lagunes

Flores-Lagunes is Melvin A. Eggers Faculty Scholar and Professor of Economics; Senior Research Associate, Center for Policy Research; Research Fellow, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) and Global Labor Organization (GLO); Past-President, American Society of Hispanic Economists (ASHE) – Syracuse University

To view the full report and your state’s rank, click here.