Press Releases

Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) decreased in 98 counties in September 2025, increased in one, and remained unchanged in one. Halifax County had the highest unemployment rate at 5.6 percent while Currituck County had the lowest at 2.7 percent. All fifteen of the state’s metro areas experienced rate decreases. Among the metro areas, Rocky Mount had the highest rate at 5.1 percent while Raleigh had the lowest at 3.2 percent. The not seasonally adjusted statewide rate was 3.7 percent.

Today Governor Stein announced two people will be joining his leadership team to increase engagement with the private sector and modernize state government: Doug Warf as Senior Advisor for Business Engagement and Torre Jessup as Senior Advisor for Digital Experience. 

Applications are now being accepted for a new round of grants from the One North Carolina Small Business Program, a key source of funding small businesses engaged in research, development, and innovation leading to commercial products.“Young companies are responsible for the majority of net new job creation,” said North Carolina Secretary of Commerce Lee Lilley. “The One NC Small Business Program provides funding to help these young companies bridge the gap between innovation and the marketplace, creating great jobs and new products that change the world.”

Today Governor Josh Stein announced Hoffman & Hoffman, Inc., a supplier of commercial HVAC systems and products, will create 131 jobs in Guilford County. The company will invest $40 million to expand its corporate headquarters and manufacturing operations in the city of Greensboro.

Today Governor Josh Stein’s Council on Workforce and Apprentic

Today Governor Josh Stein announced that the State is accepting applications for a new disaster recovery program to repair or rebuild small rental properties in western North Carolina that were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Helene. The Small Rental Rehabilitation Program is the second Renew NC recovery initiative to be offered by the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Division of Community Revitalization.

Governor Josh Stein announced this week that more than $7 million in economic development grants benefiting 15 North Carolina counties has been awarded by the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission (SCRC). The grants will support job creation and retention, investments in critical infrastructure that fuel economic growth, and strengthened workforce development pipelines through targeted training and education.

Two television/streaming series and an independent feature-length film have been approved for North Carolina Film and Entertainment Grants. The productions, estimated to be creating more than 4,900 jobs in total, are expected to spend more than $113 million during their production windows, supporting North Carolina film crew professionals and small businesses servicing the productions across much of the state.

Dr. Andrea DeSantis, Assistant Secretary for Workforce Solutions at the North Carolina Department of Commerce, has been selected by the U.S. Department of Education to help shape one of the most significant federal workforce training reforms in years.

The state’s seasonally adjusted September 2025 unemployment rate was 3.7 percent, unchanged from August’s revised rate. The national rate increased 0.1 of a percentage point to 4.4 percent.North Carolina’s unemployment rate was unchanged from a year ago. The number of people employed increased 1,020 over the month to 5,089,209 and decreased 306 over the year. The number of people unemployed increased 2,954 over the month to 197,807 and increased 2,499 over the year.