Sources & References
Metro Job Market Pulse · Durham, NC MSA · October 2026
Every advertised-pay, job-posting and industry figure in this briefing comes from WageScape's own database of active job postings. The sources below back the external facts cited in the written analysis.
Sources cited in this report
Key Indicators
National average hourly earnings up 3.0% vs 3.4% inflation
Bureau of Labor Statistics — September 2026 employment situation report
This Month's Takeaways
NC WARN notices total 61 in 2026, concentrated in manufacturing/logistics
North Carolina Department of Commerce — WARN Act notice tracking, 2026 year-to-date
Durham healthcare and computer/math occupation shares exceed national averages
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Durham-Chapel Hill MSA
Local Economic Conditions
Durham-Chapel Hill MSA unemployment rate near 3.4%
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Metro-area unemployment data, most recent available reading
NC labor force participation fell to 57.8%, down 1.6 pts YoY
North Carolina Department of Commerce — State labor force participation report, August 2026
Looking Ahead
National payroll growth of 29,000 in September with downward revisions
Bureau of Labor Statistics — September 2026 nonfarm payroll employment report
How the numbers are calculated
- Advertised pay is the median of the pay ranges employers publish in active job postings in this metro. It is not survey or payroll data.
- Percent changes compare the latest six full months with the six months before that, for the same metro and sector.
- Sectors group postings by the employer's industry (NAICS) classification into ten sectors. Where a metro has too few postings in a sector, the state figure is used instead.
- Role pay trends use the same comparison windows. "Stable" means a change of less than 3%; "moderate" 3–10%; "significant" more than 10%.
Official data for comparison