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North Carolina jobs and job market: layoffs, colleges and workforce help

North Carolina’s unemployment rate is 3.4%. 9,266 open professional jobs are listed here. Employers filed 70 layoff notices in the last 12 months. Choose a county or city for the same picture closer to home.

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North Carolina economy

  • 3.4%

    unemployment, Sep 2026

    3.9% the month before

  • 5,233,573

    in the labor force

    Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics

  • 10,584,340

    people in North Carolina

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau

  • $69,904

    median household income

    Source: Census ACS

  • 42%

    of workers in white-collar occupations

    Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

North Carolina outlook: Building

Built from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census figures. It describes the area, not any one employer in it.

  • Private-sector jobs up 4.2% from 2022 to 2025
  • Population up 7.2% from 2020 to 2025
  • Unemployment 3.1%, down 0.6 points from a year ago
  • Sectors adding the most jobs: health care (+64,955 jobs), hotels & food (+28,453 jobs)
  • Sectors losing the most jobs: manufacturing (−14,222 jobs), admin & staffing (−8,795 jobs)

Local job-market news

Recent headlines about layoffs, AI and jobs in North Carolina. Each link goes to the publisher.

Learn and get funded in North Carolina

North Carolina layoffs

  • 70

    Layoff notices, last 12 months

  • 6,885

    workers named

    A floor: states may leave out counts

  • 55

    employers

Layoff notices filed in North Carolina, newest first
Notice dateEmployerCity or countyWorkersTypeSource
Sealy Mattress Manufacturing CompanyTakes effect Dec 31, 2026Randolph County114ClosureState record
Toter, LLCTakes effect Dec 22, 2026Iredell County81ClosureState record
Toter, LLCTakes effect Dec 22, 2026Iredell County15ClosureState record
FosterTakes effect Mar 5, 2027Forsyth County169ClosureState record
FosterTakes effect Mar 5, 2027Pitt County12ClosureState record
FTGU, LLCTakes effect Dec 16, 2026Catawba County93ClosureState record
PellaTakes effect Jan 31, 2027Rockingham County133ClosureState record
James RiverTakes effect Nov 30, 2026N/A County4LayoffState record
MasterBrand Cabinets LLCTakes effect Nov 27, 2026Lenoir County391LayoffState record
Comfort First Heating & Cooling, LLCTakes effect Nov 16, 2026Lee County67LayoffState record

All layoff notices in the state

Get an email when a new notice is filed for North Carolina

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Employers hiring most in North Carolina

Employers with the most open professional roles on our job board right now.

  1. Duke University152 open roles
  2. Truist Financial130 open roles
  3. Lowe's102 open roles
  4. First Citizens Bank86 open roles
  5. Wagner75 open roles
  6. SMBC Americas74 open roles
  7. Scout Motors72 open roles
  8. Judi Health69 open roles
  9. Cisco Systems56 open roles
  10. Cone Health56 open roles
  11. Honeywell International56 open roles
  12. Eaton55 open roles

Largest employers headquartered in North Carolina

Employee counts with a year are published figures (Wikidata). Other sizes are estimates from our company directory, not payroll counts.

Higher education in North Carolina

  • 66

    public and private non-profit colleges

    Source: IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education

  • about 618,000

    students enrolled

    Estimated from size bands

Largest colleges in North Carolina

Largest colleges in North Carolina
CollegeCityTypeStudents
Appalachian State UniversityBoonePublic 4-year20,000+
East Carolina UniversityGreenvillePublic 4-year20,000+
North Carolina State University at RaleighRaleighPublic 4-year20,000+
University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillPublic 4-year20,000+
University of North Carolina at CharlotteCharlottePublic 4-year20,000+
Duke UniversityDurhamPrivate non-profit 4-year10,000–19,999
North Carolina A & T State UniversityGreensboroPublic 4-year10,000–19,999
University of North Carolina at GreensboroGreensboroPublic 4-year10,000–19,999
University of North Carolina WilmingtonWilmingtonPublic 4-year10,000–19,999
Western Carolina UniversityCullowheePublic 4-year10,000–19,999
Elon UniversityElonPrivate non-profit 4-year5,000–9,999
Fayetteville State UniversityFayettevillePublic 4-year5,000–9,999

All 66 North Carolina colleges

Workforce development and job centers

The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving North Carolina. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.

Laid off in North Carolina? How to file for unemployment in North Carolina (steps, weekly amount and the appeal deadline).

87 American Job Centers in North Carolina

Job fairs and business events in North Carolina

Hiring events, career workshops, small-business counseling and startup events from chambers, job centers, workforce boards, colleges and economic-development groups in North Carolina.

Conferences in North Carolina

Industry conferences and trade shows held in North Carolina, the ones worth a trip for hiring managers and job seekers. 30 with dates announced.

  • NCSBA Annual Conference

    Nov 9 to Nov 11, 2026 · Greensboro, NC

    Ticket About $495. Full conference $495

  • Banking Transformation Summit USA

    Nov 9 to Nov 10, 2026 · Charlotte, NC

    Apply to attend. Banks and credit unions can apply for a free pass; vendors pay

  • Bisnow Carolinas Data Center Conference & Expo

    Nov 12, 2026 · Charlotte, NC

    Ticket About $239. Single ticket price $239 shown.

    Open call for speakers

  • Evaluation 2026 (AEA Annual Conference)

    Nov 16 to Nov 20, 2026 · Charlotte, NC

    Paid ticket. Registration open; fees not read.

  • AFBF Annual Convention & IDEAg Trade Show

    Jan 8 to Jan 13, 2027 · Charlotte, NC

    Ticket $250 to $500. Farm Bureau member, government and student $250; non-member $500. Children 17 and under free (12-17 must…

  • AI for Public Good Conference

    Feb 8, 2027 · Chapel Hill, NC

    Paid ticket, price not listed

  • NASP Annual Convention

    Feb 23 to Feb 26, 2027 · Charlotte, NC

    Ticket $279 to $569. Full convention: member $279 early (Oct 1-Nov 18, 2026), $299 preconvention (to Jan 6), $329 full/on-site;…

    Open call for speakers

  • ISPAMERICA

    Mar 1 to Mar 4, 2027 · Cherokee, NC

    Paid ticket. Pricing not captured. Formerly WISPAMERICA; Harrah's Cherokee Resort.

  • ACI-NA/AAAE Airport Customer Experience Symposium

    Mar 9 to Mar 11, 2027 · Asheville, NC

    Paid ticket. Pricing not shown in the listing.

  • InsurEXPO (Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina)

    Mar 14 to Mar 17, 2027 · Winston-Salem, NC

    Paid ticket. Prices not retrieved; run by the independent insurance agents association, agent and carrier audience.

  • PDA Miniverse Conference

    Mar 15 to Mar 17, 2027 · Raleigh, NC

    Paid ticket. Registration coming soon.

    Open call for speakers · deadline Feb 1, 2027

  • PDA Annual Meeting (PDA Week)

    Mar 15 to Mar 17, 2027 · Raleigh, NC

    Paid ticket. Fees not yet published; PDA Week runs Mar 14-18 with pre-meeting events.

    Open call for speakers · deadline Aug 31, 2026

  • APhA Annual Meeting & Exposition

    Mar 19 to Mar 22, 2027 · Charlotte, NC

    Ticket $830 to $1,365. Member $830 early (to Feb 12) then $975; non-member $1,215 early then $1,365; student, resident,…

    Open call for speakers · deadline Oct 7, 2026

  • SNAXPO

    Apr 4 to Apr 6, 2027 · Charlotte, NC

    Paid ticket. No registration price on page.

  • UNC Cleantech Summit

    Apr 5 to Apr 6, 2027 · Chapel Hill, NC

    Paid ticket. Registration opens early November

  • SHAPE America National Convention & Expo

    Apr 7 to Apr 10, 2027 · Charlotte, NC

    Ticket $129 to $699. Full convention early-bird (to Jan 27, 2027) / regular / on-site: professional member $329/$429/$479;…

    Open call for speakers

  • APPA Engineering & Operations Conference

    Apr 11 to Apr 14, 2027 · Raleigh, NC

    Ticket $995 to $2,090. Early bird by Feb 22: $995 member / $1,990 non-member; later $1,095 / $2,090; preconference seminars $395.

  • MO Summit

    Apr 12 to Apr 14, 2027 · Asheville, NC

    Paid ticket. Ticket price not shown on the listing read; tickets sold through the organizer Ticket Tailor page.

  • Pendomonium

    May 3 to May 5, 2027 · Raleigh, NC

    Paid ticket. Save-the-date; registration price not yet published.

  • NCLM CityVision

    May 4 to May 6, 2027 · Winston-Salem, NC

    Paid ticket. Prices not listed; use the events contact form.

    Open call for speakers · deadline Oct 30, 2026

  • NBAA Maintenance Conference

    May 4 to May 6, 2027 · Charlotte, NC

    Paid ticket. Badge pricing not published yet; registration opens by February 2027. Optional one-day PDP course May 3.

    Open call for speakers · deadline Nov 18, 2026

  • Training Industry Conference & Expo (TICE)

    Jun 8 to Jun 10, 2027 · Raleigh, NC

    Paid ticket. Fees not read.

    Open call for speakers

  • NSA Annual Conference & Exposition

    Jun 20 to Jun 24, 2027 · Charlotte, NC

    Paid ticket. Fees not listed on the conferences page.

  • SCUP Annual Conference

    Jul 18 to Jul 20, 2027 · Raleigh, NC

    Paid ticket. Price not listed on the overview page.

Showing 24 of 35 conferences, 30 with dates announced.

All conferences

North Carolina counties

Each county page has its own unemployment, layoffs, job openings, employers, colleges and job centers.

Show all 100

North Carolina cities

Cities with open jobs, layoff notices, a job center or a college.

Show all 175

Laid off or looking for work in North Carolina?

See what to do first, what North Carolina unemployment benefits pay, and the jobs open near you.

See your options after a layoff

Sources: Census Bureau and BLS for population, income and unemployment; layoff notices from North Carolina’s published record; job counts from our live job board, taken from employers’ own career sites; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers. North Carolina unemployment benefits and severance rules.

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