Metro Job Market Pulse · General Market Conditions · October 2026
General Market Conditions Labor Market Report: Rocky Mount, NC MSA — October 2026
Rocky Mount's jobless rate stays stuck as the rest of NC improves.
Rocky Mount's 4.2% unemployment rate remains the highest of North Carolina's 15 metros even as the statewide rate fell to 3.4%, with local manufacturing and construction pay softening while healthcare wages climb.
Free archive edition. Published by WageScape as sent to subscribers; data as of October 2026.
Key indicators
- Metro unemployment rate: 4.2% — Highest of NC's 15 metros; state rate 3.4%
- Raleigh unemployment rate: 2.7% — Lowest NC metro, for comparison
- NC labor force participation: 57.8% — Below 10-yr high of 61.6% (Aug. 2026)
- NC manufacturing employment change: -8,800 jobs — Over past 12 months, statewide
Key takeaways
Rocky Mount's jobless rate is an outlier within a strong state.
At 4.2% in September, the metro's unemployment rate sits a full percentage point above the statewide 3.4% and nearly 1.5 points above Raleigh's 2.7%, even as all 15 NC metros posted year-over-year improvement. Persistent gap suggests local structural factors are keeping the rate elevated even as statewide conditions improve.
Manufacturing and construction pay are pulling in the opposite direction from the state's trend line.
Local advertised pay for construction laborers and manufacturing production workers both show moderate-to-significant declines, against national figures that are stable or rising. Given manufacturing's statewide pullback (-8,800 jobs over the year) and local anchors like Consolidated Diesel, this divergence bears watching as a signal of metro-specific industrial softening set against otherwise stable national conditions.
Healthcare and skilled trades show the metro's clearest pockets of strength.
Registered nurse pay is up significantly locally ($98,424 median) and CNA/home health aide pay is rising as well, alongside a significant HVAC technician increase to $70,533. These gains align with Nash Hospitals' continued role as a top-three local employer and statewide health-services growth of 18,700 jobs over the year.
Wage-versus-inflation math looks tighter here than nationally.
With North Carolina's bottom-quartile wage growth slowing to roughly 3.5% against a national CPI run near 3.7%, and several metro frontline roles (retail, food service, customer service) showing flat-to-declining advertised pay — a reminder that job ads signal hiring demand and one ad often covers several openings — lower-wage households in the metro face a tighter real-income squeeze than the statewide average suggests.
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 | $26,129 | $28,080 | Moderate decline | $33,340 |
| Retail Cashier | $22,880 | $25,412 | $27,040 | Stable | $31,268 |
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate | $29,737 | $36,400 | $39,520 | Stable | $38,480 |
| CDL Truck Driver | $56,479 | $77,002 | $85,800 | Moderate decline | $78,872 |
| Delivery Driver | $27,042 | $30,582 | $31,027 | Stable | $34,826 |
| Construction Laborer | $28,794 | $34,727 | $35,360 | Significant decline | $40,727 |
| Electrician | $54,928 | $62,762 | $69,206 | Moderate decline | $71,835 |
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler | $30,480 | $33,564 | $35,360 | Moderate decline | $39,520 |
| Customer Service Representative | $31,200 | $37,440 | $39,111 | Moderate decline | $39,520 |
| Food Service Worker | $25,822 | $26,304 | $27,423 | Moderate decline | $33,764 |
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide | $32,716 | $38,500 | $41,000 | Moderate increase | $41,600 |
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk | $32,292 | $37,756 | $38,414 | Stable | $44,552 |
| HVAC Technician * | $58,221 | $70,533 | $76,000 | Significant increase | $71,406 |
| Registered Nurse | $81,975 | $98,424 | $104,208 | Significant increase | $102,252 |
| Software Engineer * | $114,700 | $145,322 | $161,466 | Stable | $154,403 |
| Data Engineer * | $100,620 | $127,369 | $142,605 | Stable | $138,000 |
| Accountant | $62,604 | $71,750 | $76,014 | Moderate increase | $72,000 |
| Financial Analyst | $79,040 | $93,474 | $97,074 | Stable | $94,646 |
| HR Generalist/Manager | $43,330 | $67,600 | $69,680 | Significant increase | $74,477 |
| Marketing Specialist * | $51,559 | $64,714 | $79,131 | Significant increase | $62,916 |
| Operations Manager * | $63,945 | $89,501 | $91,024 | Significant increase | $86,294 |
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher | $29,704 | $45,253 | $50,000 | Significant increase | $55,908 |
| Account Manager | $50,243 | $60,000 | $63,971 | Significant decline | $94,009 |
| Warehouse Manager * | $51,195 | $70,000 | $82,500 | Moderate increase | $75,000 |
| Business Analyst | $78,056 | $97,598 | $104,000 | Significant increase | $98,302 |
* 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 | $50,746 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Manufacturing | $79,229 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Retail Trade | $33,171 | Moderate increase | Significant increase |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities | $56,216 | Stable | Moderate increase |
| Information | $111,732 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Financial Activities | $42,000 | Stable | Stable |
| Professional & Business Services | $51,987 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Education & Health Services | $66,555 | Significant increase | Significant increase |
| Leisure & Hospitality | $32,213 | Stable | Significant increase |
| Government | $66,158 | Stable | Significant increase |
Local market conditions
Rocky Mount's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held at 4.2% in September, the highest among North Carolina's 15 metro areas, even as the statewide rate fell to 3.4% and every other NC metro posted year-over-year declines. Advertised pay across the metro's basket skews soft relative to national figures — construction labor, manufacturing production, and electrical trades all show moderate-to-significant local pay declines even as their national counterparts hold stable or rise, consistent with a local labor market carrying more slack than the state as a whole.
What it means
Rocky Mount's unemployment gap versus the rest of North Carolina — more than a full point above Raleigh's 2.7% — signals a metro economy absorbing labor supply more slowly than peer markets, a relevant data point for economic development officials benchmarking site-selection competitiveness against Charlotte and Raleigh's stronger job growth. Divergent local pay trends, with healthcare and skilled trades like HVAC rising while manufacturing and construction labor soften, point to uneven sector momentum across industries. Commerce leaders evaluating the metro's investment pitch may want to examine which sectors are driving the gap before framing the area's cost structure as a draw.
Looking ahead
Worth watching: NC Commerce's November release will show whether Rocky Mount's 4.2% rate narrows toward the state average or remains the outlier among the 15 metros — a gap of this size persisting into a second quarter would be notable for economic development framing.
Emerging pressure point: Statewide manufacturing losses (-8,800 jobs annually, -1,100 in September alone) combined with local declines in manufacturing and construction advertised pay warrant tracking against Nash and Edgecombe County WARN filings, given the metro's historical reliance on industrial employers like Consolidated Diesel.
Policy-relevant signal: North Carolina's labor force participation rate (57.8%) remains well below its 61.6% ten-year high, and the state labor force contracted 1.6% over the past year — a dynamic likely to be more pronounced in a higher-unemployment metro like Rocky Mount and relevant to any workforce-participation policy discussion.
Early indicator: Healthcare's statewide hiring strength (+18,700 jobs, physicians and therapists leading national demand) paired with local RN and home health pay gains suggests the sector may be the metro's most durable growth driver through year-end — a data point for commerce leaders assessing where local economic activity is concentrating.
Sources
- NC Department of Commerce — Rocky Mount unemployment at 4.2%, highest among NC's 15 metros
- Bureau of Labor Statistics / WFAE — Statewide unemployment fell to 3.4% in September
- Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond — NC manufacturing lost 8,800 jobs over the past year
- NC Office of State Budget and Management — NC labor force participation rate at 57.8%, below 61.6% ten-year high
- Atlanta Fed / NC OSBM — Bottom-quartile wage growth slowed to ~3.5% statewide
- NC Department of Commerce — Raleigh posts lowest NC metro unemployment at 2.7%
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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