Winston-Salem's jobless rate beats the nation, but the lead is untested.
3.8%
Metro unemployment rate
vs 4.2% national, 3.5% NC (July/Sept 2026)
3.0% vs 3.4%
National wage growth vs inflation
Weakest wage pace since May 2021
$4.78B
Metro quarterly wage base
Up from $4.47B in Q4 2025, Q1 2026
57.8%
NC labor force participation
Down 1.6 pts YoY, tied for 45th nationally
This Month's Takeaways
01
Winston-Salem's jobless rate outperforms the nation by a full point.
July's 3.8% metro rate compares favorably to the national 4.2% and sits near the state's 3.5%, suggesting the local economy has so far avoided the hiring slowdown dragging on national payroll growth. Sustained divergence of this size would be a notable story for regional economic development messaging, provided it holds through the next two BLS releases.
02
Wage-inflation gap nationally has not yet shown up locally.
National wage growth slipped to 3.0% against 3.4% inflation in September, the weakest pace since 2021, while Winston-Salem's Q1 total wage base grew roughly 7% quarter over quarter. Whether that local wage momentum is broad-based or concentrated in a few sectors is the key unresolved question for assessing real purchasing power in the metro.
03
Public payrolls look like the metro's stabilizing force, not its risk.
Active recruiting activity at Forsyth County government and Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools contrasts with the 216,000 national decline in government jobs over the past year. For a metro this size, continued public-sector payroll stability is a meaningful buffer against national-level government contraction.
04
Construction and skilled-trades pay gains diverge from a cooling goods sector.
HVAC technician pay rose significantly locally ($68,139) and electrician pay moderately ($62,400), consistent with the national pattern of construction (+11,000 jobs in September) outperforming white-collar categories. That split is consistent with continued building and infrastructure activity locally, a signal commerce leaders can cross-check against regional permitting data.
Local Economic Conditions
Winston-Salem's unemployment rate held at 3.8% in July 2026, well below the national 4.2% September reading, even as the metro's labor force shows signs of the same participation softness affecting North Carolina statewide. Quarterly wages reached $4.78 billion in Q1 2026, up from $4.47 billion the prior quarter, while national wage growth cooled to 3.0% against 3.4% inflation — a divergence that leaves the direction of local purchasing power an open, closely watched question heading into fourth-quarter data.
Open Threads in the Data
Tight local unemployment alongside a national hiring slowdown (29,000 jobs added in September, with July and August revised down a combined 60,000) suggests Winston-Salem's labor market may be running warmer than the national trend, a favorable signal for commerce leaders weighing local expansion or investment timing. Public-sector stability — visible in active Forsyth County and school-system recruiting — offers a counterweight to national government payroll contraction, reinforcing the metro's relative insulation from the finance and white-collar softness showing up nationally. Current conditions suggest local economic development officials and chambers should track whether this gap between metro and national momentum persists through year-end data releases before drawing conclusions about structural advantage.
Advertised Pay Indicators · WageScape Benchmark 25 Jobs
Job postings data for the Winston-Salem, NC MSA metro — median advertised pay, its recent trend, and the number of active postings behind each figure. Jobs are grouped for readability and are not the same as the 10 sector classifications on the next page. For additional job detail contact WageScape.
Retail Trade
| Retail Sales Associate |
$27,081 |
↓ Moderate decline |
2,248 |
| Retail Cashier |
$26,000 |
↓ Moderate decline |
1,311 |
Transportation & Warehousing
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate |
$36,400 |
→ Stable |
628 |
| CDL Truck Driver |
$78,000 |
→ Stable |
3,023 |
| Delivery Driver |
$31,239 |
↓ Significant decline |
2,037 |
| Warehouse Manager |
— |
Limited local postings |
— |
Construction
| Construction Laborer |
$37,379 |
↓ Moderate decline |
95 |
Construction/Skilled Trades
| Electrician |
$62,400 |
↑ Moderate increase |
400 |
| HVAC Technician |
$68,139 |
↑ Significant increase |
138 |
Manufacturing
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler |
$35,776 |
↓ Moderate decline |
220 |
Cross-Sector
| Customer Service Representative |
$37,535 |
→ Stable |
414 |
| Operations Manager |
$87,726 |
↑ Significant increase |
11 |
Leisure & Hospitality
| Food Service Worker |
$33,280 |
↑ Moderate increase |
113 |
Healthcare
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide |
$37,440 |
↑ Moderate increase |
1,807 |
| Registered Nurse |
$97,361 |
↑ Moderate increase |
7,289 |
Admin/Office Support
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk |
$37,671 |
↑ Moderate increase |
477 |
Information/Technology
| Software Engineer |
$153,913 |
↓ Moderate decline |
64 |
| Data Engineer |
$107,869 |
↓ Significant decline |
21 |
Professional & Business Services
| Accountant |
$63,960 |
→ Stable |
220 |
| HR Generalist/Manager |
$70,000 |
↑ Significant increase |
94 |
| Marketing Specialist |
$55,158 |
↓ Moderate decline |
35 |
| Business Analyst |
$77,937 |
↓ Significant decline |
28 |
Finance & Insurance
| Financial Analyst |
$74,256 |
→ Stable |
110 |
Government/Education
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher |
$39,967 |
↑ Moderate increase |
1,824 |
Cross-Sector Sales
| Account Manager |
$78,451 |
↑ Significant increase |
213 |
Industry Snapshot · Winston-Salem, NC MSA
Advertised pay and job-posting trends across the whole metro economy, rolled up by employer industry — not just the bellwether roles above.
| Sector |
Median Pay Change |
Job Postings Change |
| Construction |
→ +1.3% |
↑ +54.1% |
| Manufacturing |
→ −1.2% |
↑ +90.1% |
| Retail Trade |
→ +2.3% |
↑ +23.6% |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities |
↑ +14.8% |
↑ +67.6% |
| Information |
↑ +39.5% |
↓ −33.0% |
| Financial Activities |
↑ +20.1% |
↑ +13.0% |
| Professional & Business Services |
↓ −4.3% |
↑ +60.8% |
| Education & Health Services |
↑ +11.1% |
↑ +43.7% |
| Leisure & Hospitality |
↓ −5.9% |
↑ +32.3% |
| Government |
↑ +67.0% |
↑ +632.4% |
Looking Ahead · Next 30–60 Days
Expected
September BLS data for the Winston-Salem MSA has not yet been released as of this writing; the early-October update will show whether the metro's sub-4% unemployment advantage over the national rate held or narrowed.
Emerging pressure point
North Carolina's labor force participation fell to 57.8%, tied for 45th nationally and down 1.6 points year over year — a trend partly tied to slowing population growth and demographic shifts. Watch whether Winston-Salem's labor force shows a similar contraction when county-level data updates.
Worth watching
NC construction and agriculture sectors have seen labor-supply effects tied to shifts in foreign-born workforce participation, a bare-facts dynamic with real implications for regional building and manufacturing capacity. Local economic development bodies should track whether Winston-Salem's construction employment, up locally in advertised pay, shows comparable labor-supply strain.
Potential inflection point
National WARN filings remain below 2025's pace (163,273 affected workers this year versus 261,814 last year), and North Carolina's 61 notices year-to-date are concentrated in manufacturing and transportation. A single large regional filing would be the clearest early signal of the national slowdown reaching Winston-Salem directly.
Sources & Methodology
Pay and hiring data provided by WageScape. See every source cited in this report, with links →
Advertised pay reflects the pay ranges employers publish in active job postings in this metro, not survey or payroll data. Pay trends compare the current period with the prior period for the same metro and role. Sector figures group postings by the employer's industry classification; sectors with limited classified postings are marked as such rather than estimated. This briefing is independent of, and complements, official statistics from the BLS and state labor market information offices.
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