State News

North Carolina and U.S. unemployment claims - data and graphs

This page displays charts showing new, existing and average unemployment claims in North Carolina and all other states in the U.S. in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Posted 2020-03-25T21:09:23+00:00 - Updated 2020-04-17T03:46:09+00:00

NC unemployment filings from March 16, 2020, through 8 a.m. on March 24, 2020.

With the coronavirus health pandemic causing an economic crisis across the state and nation, WRAL News is tracking North Carolina unemployment data in a variety of ways and creating visual displays to help you understand the impact on the state's work force and economy.

The graph below shows new state unemployment claims, as well as average claims for the same period of time in 2019 and 2009, when the nation was experiencing a recession. The new claims data comes from the N.C. Division of Employment Security, while the average claims data comes from the U.S. Department of Labor.

New unemployment claims in NC

On March 18, the N.C. Division of Employment Security began sporadically releasing details on the number of cumulative unemployment claims filed since March 16, most of them triggered by layoffs related to the novel coronavirus. See how those numbers compare to cumulative new claims filed during a similar time period in 2019 and the 2009 recession, acccording to data from the U.S. Department of Labor, through July 6, 2020, the last date WRAL collected the data.

Source: N.C. DES, U.S. Department of Labor
Graphic: Tyler Dukes, WRAL

Nearly 3.3 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits in late March — more than quadruple the previous record set in 1982 — amid a widespread economic shutdown caused by the coronavirus. The interactive AP graphic shows total claims across the U.S., and you can drill into statistics for other states.

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