Southeast Information Office

Hickory

Title	BLS Subject	Product Type	Date Published
	AllEmploymentUnemploymentConsumer price indexesPay
Southeast - Labor Force Statistics	Employment, Unemployment	Table	May 2026
Occupational Employment and Wages in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC — May 2024	Employment, Pay	News Release	May 2025
ConsumerPriceIndex_Summary_Southeast (PDF)	Consumer price indexes	CPI Summary	May 2026
Occupational Employment and Wages for Selected Construction Trades Occupations in North Carolina’s Metropolitan Areas – May 2016	Employment, Pay	News Release	Jul 2017

Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC Economy at a Glance:

Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC

Data Series	Back Data	Oct 2025	Nov 2025	Dec 2025	Jan 2026	Feb 2026	Mar 2026
Labor Force Data
Civilian Labor Force(1)		(2)-	(3)167.9	(3)166.9	165.9	166.2	(p)166.5
Employment(1)		(2)-	(3)161.5	(3)161.4	159.4	160.1	(p)160.8
Unemployment(1)		(2)-	(3)6.4	(3)5.5	6.5	6.1	(p)5.7
Unemployment Rate(4)		(2)-	(3)3.8	(3)3.3	3.9	3.7	(p)3.4
Nonfarm Wage and Salary Employment
Total Nonfarm(5)		156.5	156.7	156.5	154.3	154.3	(p)154.9
12-month % change		-0.3	-0.6	-0.5	-1.1	-1.6	(p)-1.3
Mining, Logging, and Construction(5)		5.9	5.9	5.9	5.8	5.8	(p)5.9
12-month % change		-3.3	1.7	1.7	3.6	1.8	(p)1.7
Manufacturing(5)		38.4	38.2	38.1	38.0	37.9	(p)38.2
12-month % change		-1.5	-2.1	-2.6	-2.3	-3.6	(p)-2.6
Trade, Transportation, and Utilities(5)		30.9	31.1	31.3	30.4	30.1	(p)30.2
12-month % change		-0.3	-1.3	-0.9	-2.9	-3.2	(p)-2.6
Information(5)		1.4	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.4	(p)1.4
12-month % change		0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	(p)0.0
Financial Activities(5)		3.2	3.2	3.2	3.1	3.1	(p)3.1
12-month % change		0.0	0.0	0.0	-3.1	-3.1	(p)-3.1
Professional and Business Services(5)		13.2	13.1	13.0	12.6	12.6	(p)12.5
12-month % change		-0.8	-1.5	-2.3	-3.8	-4.5	(p)-6.0
Education and Health Services(5)		19.7	19.7	19.7	19.7	19.8	(p)19.8
12-month % change		2.6	3.1	3.1	2.1	2.1	(p)2.1
Leisure and Hospitality(5)		15.1	15.1	15.2	14.8	14.8	(p)15.0
12-month % change		0.7	-0.7	0.0	1.4	-0.7	(p)0.0
Other Services(5)		5.2	5.2	5.2	5.1	5.2	(p)5.2
12-month % change		-1.9	0.0	0.0	-1.9	0.0	(p)0.0
Government(5)		23.5	23.8	23.5	23.4	23.6	(p)23.6
12-month % change		0.4	-0.4	0.4	0.0	0.9	(p)0.9
Footnotes (1) Number of persons, in thousands, not seasonally adjusted. (2) Data unavailable due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations. (3) Data were subject to revision on May 19, 2026. (4) In percent, not seasonally adjusted. (5) Number of jobs, in thousands, not seasonally adjusted. See About the data. (p) Preliminary