PlainLabor

State · BLS JOLTS · Dec 2025

North Carolina Labor Market

Monthly job openings, hires, quits, and layoffs for North Carolina from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. State tables often lag the national release (see homepage disclosure).

212K
Job openings
161K
Hires
2.2%
Quits rate
26th
Of 51 states (openings rate, 3-month average)

BLS JOLTS turnover passport

Series extract JOLTS-37 North Carolina

212K openings · 4.0% rate · 161K hires · Dec 2025

  • OPEN 212K
  • RATE 4.0%
  • RANK 26th
  • HIRE 161K
  • QUIT 2.2%
  • LAY 58K
  • YOY -22.9%
  • PHOTO Alabama

Openings-rate peers

Photo peer: Alabama (4.0%)

Alabama4%Kansas4%Montana4%Texas4.1%North Carolina (this)4%
Openings-rate neighbourhood · Dec 2025 (this state highlighted)

North Carolina is 26th of 51 states by openings rate; peer pills are ABS(openings_rate) neighbours, not a fixed roster. Read Alabama →

Labor market health score

D

Labor market health score

47/100

North Carolina, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions

A weighted composite of the job openings, hires, and quits rates against every other state's same-month JOLTS data. It describes the latest reported month, not a forecast, and does not weigh wages, cost of living, or industry mix.

  • Job openings rate C- 4.0%

    Job openings as a share of employment plus openings, latest month

  • Hires rate F 3.2%

    Hires as a share of employment, latest month

  • Quits rate C 2.2%

    Voluntary quits as a share of employment — a worker-confidence signal

Rate placement

Where North Carolina sits on the latest-month openings-rate board

Dec 2025 openings rate (openings per 100 jobs). Highlighted bar is North Carolina; the hero rank uses a trailing average, this board is the latest month alone. Signature: 24th of 51 by latest-month openings rate (4.0%).

1. WV5.5%2. GA5.3%2. OK5.3%4. OH4.8%4. VA4.8%4. LA4.8%7. MI4.7%7. MS4.7%9. DC4.5%24. NC4%
North Carolina among state openings rates · Dec 2025
0%5.5%51-state median4%4%
North Carolina openings rate vs this month's observed state ceiling

North Carolina sits at 24th of 51 in the full latest-month board; the chart shows the top 9 plus this state.

North Carolina openings fell 22.9% year over year

Monthly job openings in North Carolina from the BLS JOLTS survey, in thousands. The current openings rate is 4.0%.

100K200K300K400K500K 2019 212K

Openings vs. quits

Where North Carolina sits: Hot & confident

Each point is one state, Dec 2025: openings rate on the x-axis, voluntary quits rate on the y-axis. A hot job market does not reliably make workers confident enough to quit and chase it, and across the full 51-state table the two rates correlate only weakly. North Carolina's own openings rate is 4.0% against a 4% average, and its quits rate is 2.2% against a 2.2% average.

Hot & confidentTight but cautiousSlack but restlessCool & settled2.8%3.5%4.2%4.9%5.6%1.2%1.8%2.3%2.9%3.5%Openings rate (per 100 jobs)Quits rate (per 100 jobs)CA, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 3.6% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 1.7%TX, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 4.1% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2.2%NY, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 4.1% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 1.6%FL, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 3.9% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2.1%OH, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 4.8% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2.6%GA, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 5.3% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 1.6%PA, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 3.7% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 1.8%MI, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 4.7% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2.5%VA, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 4.8% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2%NC, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 4% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2.2%IL, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 3.3% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2.1%NJ, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 3.8% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 1.6%TN, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 4.1% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2.2%MN, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 4.3% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 1.9%MA, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 3.4% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 1.3%MO, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 4.1% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2.2%MD, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 4.4% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 1.9%IN, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 3.7% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 3.2%AZ, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 3.6% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 1.9%WI, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 3.7% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2.5%WA, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 2.9% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 1.6%SC, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 4.1% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2.4%LA, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 4.8% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2.7%OK, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 5.3% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2.2%CO, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 3.3% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2%KY, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 4.3% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2.1%AL, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 4% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2.1%OR, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 3.5% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2.2%CT, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 3.8% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 1.6%UT, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 3.5% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2.1%KS, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 4% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2.5%AR, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 4.3% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2%MS, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 4.7% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2.4%IA, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 3.5% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2.3%NV, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 3.1% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 1.8%WV, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 5.5% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2.4%NE, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 3.5% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2.2%DC, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 4.5% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 1.5%ID, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 3.7% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2.6%NM, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 3.5% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2%ME, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 4.1% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2%DE, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 4.4% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2.6%MT, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 4% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2.9%NH, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 3.1% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2%RI, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 4.1% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 1.8%SD, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 4.1% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 3.4%HI, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 2.9% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2%ND, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 3.9% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2.7%AK, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 4.5% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 3%VT, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 3.4% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2.2%WY, Openings rate (per 100 jobs): 3.6% · Quits rate (per 100 jobs): 2.7%
Openings rate vs. quits rate, all 51 states and D.C., Dec 2025. North Carolina highlighted; crosshairs mark the 51-state average.

How North Carolina Compares

North Carolina's JOLTS metrics ranked against all 51 states and DC, Dec 2025.

Layoff Rate #13
1.1% - in the middle third of all 51 states →
Quits Rate #19
2.1% - near the middle of all 51 states →
Job Openings Rate #26
4.2% - near the middle of all 51 states →
Hires Rate #29
3.2% - in the middle third of all 51 states →

Compare openings-rate peers

ABS(openings_rate) nationwide, not same-region neighbors.

Alabama
Openings: 91K Rate: 4.0%
Kansas
Openings: 61K Rate: 4.0%
Montana
Openings: 22K Rate: 4.0%
Texas
Openings: 608K Rate: 4.1%
New York
Openings: 431K Rate: 4.1%
Tennessee
Openings: 143K Rate: 4.1%

Nearest quits-rate peers

ABS(quits_rate) nationwide, a second lattice independent of openings-rate peers.

Texas
Quits rate: 2.2% Openings: 608K
Tennessee
Quits rate: 2.2% Openings: 143K
Missouri
Quits rate: 2.2% Openings: 128K
Oklahoma
Quits rate: 2.2% Openings: 101K
Oregon
Quits rate: 2.2% Openings: 72K
Nebraska
Quits rate: 2.2% Openings: 38K

Data sourced from official public datasets for North Carolina (24th of 51 by latest-month openings rate (4.0%); volume 10th of 51). See our methodology.

Retrieved and formatted by PlainLabor · vintage 2026-08-17 · reference month Dec 2025