April 5. The unemployment situation in North Carolina is improving, with last week’s jobless claims 15.69 percent lower than the previous week and 22.50 percent lower than last year, according to WalletHub’s new report on state-by-state report on where unemployment claims are increasing the most.

Unemployment-wise North Carolina came in 46th out of 50 states, unemployment stats worst in Iowa, New Jersey and New York.

For the full WalletHub report, click here.

The job market’s strength over the last year or so has surprised everyone, according to Alfonso Flores-Lagunes, professor of economics at Syracuse University.

Outlook 2025

“The expectation for the next year is for the unemployment rate to increase only slightly. Of course, several uncertainties are hovering over the economic landscape. If their realization is adverse, unemployment could show a more pronounced increase,” Flores-Lagunes said.

National

Employers added just over 300,000 jobs in March, well past expectations and reflecting renewed strength in the US economy, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The US unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent last month, extending the longest stretch of unemployment below 4 percent in five decades, according to the Washington Post.

North Carolina

Details about North Carolina jobless stats:

44th – Unemployment Claims Increase vs. Previous Week

43rd – Unemployment Claims Increase vs. Same Week Last Year

6th – Cumulative Unemployment Claims in 2024 vs. Same Period Last Year

46th – Unemployment Claims per 100,000 People in Labor Force

Nearly half of the states had higher unemployment claims

The following states had unemployment claims last week that were higher than in the previous week: Maine, Washington, Florida, New York, Rhode Island, California, Hawaii, Minnesota, North Dakota, Massachusetts, Kentucky, New Jersey, Illinois, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Ohio, Wisconsin, Kansas, Maryland and Iowa.

Healthy job market

The six best states for improving joblessness were New Hampshire, Arkansas, Georgia, Missouri, Louisiana and North Carolina.

Is the hiring dynamic currently tilted in employees’ favor?

“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 rate,” Flores-Lagunes said.