Unemployment rates remained unchanged across much of the Hickory Metro according to the latest report issued by the North Carolina Department of Commerce Labor & Economic Analysis Division. The latest jobless numbers were released Wednesday (September 27), they show the unemployment rates for August.

Catawba County’s unemployment rate is 3.4 percent, unchanged from the July rate. Alexander County’s jobless percentage increased from 3.1 percent to 3.2 percent in the latest update. Burke County and Caldwell County are both showing 3.5 percent unemployment rates for August. In both counties the number is unchanged from July.

The unemployment rate for the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area or MSA is 3.4 percent, unchanged from July. Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton is tied for the 5th lowest unemployment rate among 15 MSAs in the state.

The statewide unemployment rate for August is listed at 3.6 percent, unchanged from July. Jobless rates increased in 41 of North Carolina’s 100 counties, decreased in 28, and remained the same in 31. Scotland County has the highest unemployment rate in North Carolina at 6.2 percent and Swain County has the lowest at 2.7 percent.