Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · September 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Rocky Mount, NC MSA — September 2026
Rocky Mount unemployment spikes to 9.4%, but the story is seasonal.
Rocky Mount's jobless rate jumped to 9.4% in September from 4.8% in August — the highest of any NC metro — amid a statewide seasonal surge, while the metro's $24.63 average hourly wage remains $13.29 below Raleigh's.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of September 2026.
Key indicators
- Rocky Mount unemployment (Sept, NSA): 9.4% — vs 4.8% in Aug 2026; highest among NC metros
- NC statewide unemployment (Aug, SA): 3.5% — vs 4.1% national rate
- Rocky Mount avg. hourly wage (Q1 2026): $24.63 — $13.29 below Raleigh's $37.92
- NC counties with rising unemployment (Sept): 95 of 100 — Signals statewide seasonal pattern, not isolated to metro
Key takeaways
Rocky Mount's September spike is mostly seasonal, not a new downturn.
The jump from 4.8% in August to 9.4% in September tracks a statewide pattern — 95 of 100 NC counties saw rates rise the same month — so the single-month reading should not be read as a standalone signal of local deterioration.
Wage gap with Raleigh remains the metro's defining structural story.
At $24.63 average hourly wage versus Raleigh's $37.92, Rocky Mount's pay floor lags the state's growth hub by more than a third, a gap that predates this month and will shape any regional investment comparison press or site-selection consultants make.
Skilled trades diverge sharply from general labor and manufacturing locally.
Electrician and HVAC technician advertised pay rose moderately to significantly this month while construction laborer and manufacturing assembler pay fell significantly, consistent with the metro's goods-producing sector facing long-term contraction even as specialized trades hold value.
Five-year job-growth drought frames every monthly data point.
Only 23 months of job gains across 60 months between mid-2021 and mid-2026 means a single strong or weak month carries less weight than the trendline — commerce leaders should anchor expectations to that multi-year pattern rather than any one release.
Median advertised pay by role — Rocky Mount, NC MSA
| Role | 25th percentile | Median advertised pay | 75th percentile | Metro trend | National median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales Associate | $21,955 | $26,000 | $27,925 | Stable | $33,325 |
| Retail Cashier | $22,711 | $25,146 | $26,341 | Moderate decline | $31,200 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $29,665 | $36,400 | $39,520 | Stable | $38,000 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $55,900 | $75,400 | $85,954 | Moderate decline | $78,000 |
| Delivery Driver | $27,111 | $30,582 | $31,027 | Stable | $34,344 |
| Construction Laborer | $31,037 | $35,360 | $35,360 | Significant decline | $40,560 |
| Electrician | $57,220 | $68,085 | $69,741 | Moderate increase | $71,404 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $30,432 | $33,564 | $35,382 | Significant decline | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $31,720 | $35,360 | $39,111 | Significant decline | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $25,283 | $26,016 | $26,232 | Moderate decline | $33,756 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $32,516 | $37,440 | $39,810 | Stable | $41,106 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $32,292 | $37,987 | $39,319 | Stable | $43,680 |
| HVAC Technician * | $57,200 | $68,916 | $75,920 | Significant increase | $70,720 |
| Registered Nurse | $80,000 | $97,570 | $103,546 | Significant increase | $102,581 |
| Software Engineer * | $113,926 | $144,895 | $161,200 | Moderate increase | $153,652 |
| Data Engineer * | $100,467 | $126,436 | $140,869 | Stable | $139,500 |
| Accountant | $60,515 | $71,750 | $76,014 | Moderate increase | $72,182 |
| Financial Analyst | $79,040 | $93,170 | $98,240 | Stable | $94,782 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $43,330 | $67,600 | $69,680 | Significant increase | $75,000 |
| Marketing Specialist * | $50,000 | $62,593 | $77,500 | Significant increase | $62,354 |
| Operations Manager * | $63,665 | $83,364 | $89,626 | Moderate increase | $85,216 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $30,799 | $46,012 | $50,098 | Significant increase | $56,731 |
| Account Manager | $50,000 | $60,000 | $64,574 | Significant decline | $92,749 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $51,195 | $59,000 | $81,142 | Significant decline | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $76,453 | $92,485 | $99,896 | Moderate increase | $98,279 |
* State-level figure shown where metro postings were too few.
WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings (reported as the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay). Download: CSV · JSON
Industry snapshot
| Sector | Median advertised pay | Pay trend | Postings trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | $50,745 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $79,229 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $32,831 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $50,739 | Significant decline | Significant increase |
| Information | $111,732 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $39,856 | Significant decline | Stable |
| Professional & Business Services | $52,229 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $66,647 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $32,169 | Moderate decline | Significant increase |
| Government | $68,316 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Rocky Mount's unadjusted unemployment rate jumped to 9.4% in September, the highest of any North Carolina metro and a sharp reversal from 4.8% in August, consistent with a seasonal surge that pushed rates up in 95 of the state's 100 counties but also exposing the metro's chronically thin margin above peer economies. Structural weakness compounds the seasonal spike: average hourly wages in the metro sit at $24.63, $13.29 below Raleigh, and the region has logged job gains in only 23 of the last 60 months, pointing to a local economy still working through a long legacy-manufacturing transition rather than cycling through a temporary soft patch.
What it means
Rocky Mount's widening gap with faster-growing NC metros like Asheville (2.7% unemployment) signals that capital and talent continue to concentrate elsewhere, a trend economic development leaders should weigh when pitching site-selection or expansion incentives tied to workforce availability claims. Locally advertised pay for construction laborers and manufacturing production workers is down significantly even as electricians and HVAC technicians post moderate-to-significant gains, suggesting the metro's labor market is bifurcating along skilled-trades versus general-labor lines rather than moving uniformly. Current conditions suggest commerce leaders evaluate workforce messaging and site-selection pitches around the metro's skilled-trades wage strength rather than headline unemployment figures, which currently overstate underlying monthly volatility.
Looking ahead
Expected: October's seasonally adjusted release should clarify whether September's 9.4% reading retraces toward the 4-5% range seen earlier in 2026; watch for the NC Department of Commerce's next metro comparison to confirm the seasonal-versus-structural read.
Worth watching: NC-wide WARN filings concentrated in manufacturing (34 notices, 3,444 workers) warrant local tracking given Rocky Mount's legacy manufacturing base; any new filing naming an area employer would be the clearest early signal of whether the statewide trend is reaching this metro directly.
Emerging pressure point: Statewide labor force participation fell to 57.8%, tied for 45th nationally and down 1.6 points year-over-year; Rocky Mount's smaller, aging labor pool makes it more exposed to this trend than faster-growing metros, with implications for how economic development pitches frame available workforce.
Potential inflection point: National wage growth has slipped to 3.0% against 3.4% inflation, the first sustained negative real-wage stretch since 2021; if that national pattern persists through the fourth quarter, it would compound an already-lagging local wage base and bears watching in the next regional cost-of-living comparison.
Methodology
Advertised pay from active employer job postings, not survey data. WageScape's median is calibrated to correct for spurious low-value postings: distribution analysis shows roughly the lowest 10% of raw values are erroneous entries, so the reported median is the 60th percentile of raw advertised pay. WageScape observes 98% of U.S. job openings daily.
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