Economic Data Dashboard

The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) for North Carolina uses data from unemployment insurance tax returns that are filed by employers. The QCEW data cover more than 95 percent of the establishment jobs and are considered the most reliable source of employment activity. Importantly and unlike the monthly estimates, these numbers are available for all 100 North Carolina counties. This provides the ability to take a county-by-county examination of the COVID-19 pandemic employment impact across North Carolina. 

Page 1: The below figure shows the percent change in key sectors of establishment unemployment in North Carolina from February 2020 to June 2022. 

Page 2: The below visual further breaks down percent changes in establishment employment sectors over time, compared to the February 2020 sector total. 

Note: Establishment employment is defined as the total number of persons who work in or for the establishment including working proprietors, active business partners, and unpaid family workers, as well as persons working outside the establishment when paid by the establishment (e.g., sales representatives, outside service engineers, and repair and maintenance personnel).