Unemployment rates decreased across much of the Hickory Metro and in more than half of the state’s counties according to the latest update. The report was released by the North Carolina Department of Commerce Labor & Economic Analysis Investigation and shows the April, 2026 unemployment rates.

Catawba County is showing an unemployment rate of 3.4 percent, unchanged from the March report. Alexander County has a jobless rate of 3.2 percent, down from 3.4 in the prior update. Burke County is showing an unemployment rate of 3.3 percent, down from 3.4 in March. Caldwell County has a jobless rate of 3.4 percent, down from 3.5 percent.

The unemployment rate for the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area or MSA is 3.3 percent, down from 3.4 percent in the March report. Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton is tied for the 5th lowest rate among 15 MSAs in the state.

The statewide unemployment rate is 3.4 percent, down from 3.3 percent in March. Unemployment rates decreased in 57 counties, increased in eight, and remained unchanged in 35 in April 2026. Hyde County had the highest unemployment rate

at 5.7 percent while Currituck County had the lowest at 2.7 percent.