New Hanover County, NC jobs, unemployment and layoffs

New Hanover County’s unemployment rate is 2.8%. Employers filed 1 layoff notices here in the last 12 months. 155 open professional jobs are in its cities.

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New Hanover County economy

2.8%
unemployment, Sep 2026
3.3% the month before
127,187
in the labor force
Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
231,214
people in New Hanover County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
$72,892
median household income
Source: Census ACS
46%
of workers in white-collar occupations
Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

Where New Hanover County ranks

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

November 2026

#3Best counties for laid-off professionals in the Southeast76 / 100 · of 77
#4Best county job markets for job seekers in the Southeast80 / 100 · of 77
#10Best county job markets for job seekers83 / 100 · of 100
#14Best counties for laid-off professionals73 / 100 · of 100
#24Counties with the lowest unemployment in the Southeast2.8% · of 100

New Hanover 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 6.3% from 2022 to 2025
Population up 8.6% from 2020 to 2025
Unemployment 2.8%, down 0.5 points from a year ago
Sectors adding the most jobs: health care (+3,518 jobs), hotels & food (+777 jobs)
Sectors losing the most jobs: transportation & warehousing (−328 jobs)

Local job-market news

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

Wilmington’s AugWork AI Helps Users Build Agentic Employees For Specific RolesGrepBeat · Oct 28, 2026

Learn and get funded in New Hanover 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.

New Hanover County layoffs

1
Layoff notices, last 12 months
82
workers named
A floor: states may leave out counts
1
employer

Layoff notices filed in New Hanover County, newest first
Notice date	Employer	City or county	Workers	Type	Source
Jan 7, 2026	Avelo Airlines, Inc.Takes effect Mar 6, 2026	New Hanover County	82	Closure	State record

All layoff notices in the state

Employers hiring most in New Hanover 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.

Maximus6 open roles
Novant Health6 open roles
Alcami Home5 open roles
Rha Health Services5 open roles
GE Vernova4 open roles
Energy Innovation: Policy and Technology3 open roles
Live Oak Banking Company3 open roles
Morson Group3 open roles
University of North Carolina Wilmington3 open roles
Acadia Healthcare2 open roles

Largest employers headquartered in New Hanover County

nCino1,001–5,000 employees

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

Colleges in New Hanover County

Colleges in New Hanover County
College	City	Type	Students
University of North Carolina Wilmington	Wilmington	Public 4-year	10,000–19,999

Workforce development and job centers

The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving New Hanover 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).

Cape Fear Workforce Development Consortium Board
Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover, Pender

NCWorks Career Center - Pender County Outreach Locations
Wilmington · Comprehensive · 910-251-5777
Monday- Friday 8:30am-4:30pm
NCWorks Career Center- New Hanover County
Wilmington · Comprehensive · 910-945-6900
M-F 8:30am-4:30pm

Cities in New Hanover County

Wilmington153 jobs

Other North Carolina counties

All of North Carolina

Laid off or looking for work in New Hanover 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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