Johnston County, NC jobs, unemployment and layoffs

Johnston County’s unemployment rate is 2.7%. No layoff notices here in the last 12 months. 89 open professional jobs are in its cities.

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Johnston County economy

2.7%
unemployment, Sep 2026
3.1% the month before
130,865
in the labor force
Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
226,623
people in Johnston County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
$79,838
median household income
Source: Census ACS
38%
of workers in white-collar occupations
Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

Where Johnston County ranks

Where Johnston County placed in our monthly rankings, month by month. Each month stays online at its own address.

November 2026

#2Fastest-growing job markets+21.1% · of 100
#2Fastest-growing job markets in the Southeast+21.1% · of 100
#11Counties with the lowest unemployment in the Southeast2.7% · of 100

Johnston County 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 21.1% from 2022 to 2025
Population up 17.9% from 2020 to 2025
Unemployment 2.7%, down 0.4 points from a year ago
Sectors adding the most jobs: health care (+2,434 jobs), retail (+987 jobs)

Local job-market news

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

Fiction Kitchen, a Beloved Vegan Outpost in Raleigh, Will Close Its DoorsINDY Week · Nov 6, 2026
Raleigh's Bloom Collective Café Shuts Oct. 24 as Federal Hemp Crackdown LoomsHoodline · Oct 9, 2026
Raleigh, North Carolina, reduces IT service desk costs by 66% with ServiceNow AI agentsMarketScreener · Oct 8, 2026

Learn and get funded in Johnston County

Which AI skills each kind of job asks for, with the pay premium.
Your local workforce board and American Job Centers: training vouchers and re-employment help.
Grants and funding for job seekers, ranked for your state and situation.
Unemployment benefits by state, if you are between jobs.

Johnston County layoffs

No layoff notices naming Johnston County in the last 12 months are on file. The WARN Act covers employers with 100 or more workers, so smaller layoffs are not in it.

All layoff notices in the state

Employers hiring most in Johnston County

Employers with the most open professional roles in this county’s cities. The county is taken from each job’s city, so roles with no city are not counted.

Vulcan Elements17 open roles
Novo Nordisk a S8 open roles
Novo Nordisk6 open roles
Johnston County Public Schools4 open roles
Novo Nordisk4 open roles
Grifols3 open roles
Wagner3 open roles
Amazon2 open roles
Insulet2 open roles
Magnera2 open roles

Workforce development and job centers

The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving Johnston County. 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).

Capital Area Workforce Development Board
Chatham, Johnston, Lee, Orange, Wake

NCWorks Career Center- Capital Area Johnston County
Clayton · Comprehensive · 919-553-0953
Mon-Thurs 8:30am - 5:00pm Fri- 8:30am-2:00pm

Cities in Johnston County

Other North Carolina counties

All of North Carolina

Laid off or looking for work in Johnston County?

See what to do first and the jobs open near you.

See your options after a layoff

Sources: Census Bureau and BLS (county unemployment is not seasonally adjusted); layoff notices from North Carolina’s published record; job counts from our live job board; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers. North Carolina unemployment benefits and severance rules.

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