Garner Unemployment Rate Drops

Garner, NC—The North Carolina Department of Commerce Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) shows that the unemployment rate in Garner is edging its way back to pre-pandemic levels. As of May, 2021, the Town of Garner’s unemployment rate was at 4%. This is a significant reduction from May of 2020, when the unemployment rate hit its highest at 12.9%.

The drop is the unemployment rate is great news for the area. The 12.9% unemployment that occurred in May of 2020 was the highest level of unemployment the community had seen, surpassing the loss of jobs in the Great Recession. However, while the unemployment rate in Garner is most definitely improving, it is still a ways from pre-pandemic levels. According the LAUS, Garner’s unemployment rate hit its lowest point in December of 2019 at 2.7%.

So, what does this drop in unemployment mean for the community? Well, it is hard to say. There is no doubt that having an unemployment rate below 12% is a good thing. But, some employers will also remember what it was like in 2019 when the unemployment was below 3% and companies struggled to find employees. Even now with an unemployment rate closer to 4%, you can drive around North Carolina and count the all signs employers have posted offering prospective employees sign-on bonuses. If this declining unemployment rate trend continues, are we going to face the same labor crunch we did in 2019?

In June, WRAL Tech Wire posted an article that help shine a light on the employment picture in the Triangle. The article highlighted the thousands of job openings available in the Triangle and offered some advice to readers on where to find prospective jobs. We can see that even as the area’s unemployment rate is dropping, employers are still needing to fill thousands of open positions in the area.

This all could mean that we are once again finding ourselves inching closer to full employment and the tight labor market will persist. It will be important for employers to continue to look for ways to improve their company’s culture to attract and retain top talent. For job seekers, at least at first glance, the future looks bright. There are thousands of open positions in the area and as the labor market tightens, it would hold, prospective employees should have more bargaining power for a higher wage or more flexible working conditions.

Of course, if 2020 taught us anything, it was that all of this could quickly change as our country continues to recover from the pandemic and as public policies evolve.

The Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program is a federal-state cooperative effort between the North Carolina Department of Commerce, Labor and Economic Analysis Division (LEAD) and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) Program produces monthly labor force estimates that include labor force, employment, unemployment, and unemployment rates. Estimates are available for the United States, the State of North Carolina, and several sub-state geographical areas within North Carolina. 

For more information regarding economic development matters in the Town of Garner, contact Joe Stallings at 919-773-4431 or jstallings@garnernc.gov. 

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