Special to Iredell Free News

Iredell County’s unemployment rate dropped from 4.2 percent to 3.6 percent in September, according to the N.C. Department of Commerce.

Iredell has a labor force of 90,260 workers; some 3,225 individuals are currently unemployed in the county.

Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) decreased in all 100 of North Carolina’s counties in September.

Scotland County had the highest unemployment rate at 7.8 percent while Orange County had the lowest at 2.8 percent.

All 15 of the state’s metro areas experienced rate decreases. Among the metro areas, Rocky Mount had the highest rate at 5.7 percent while Durham-Chapel Hill and Raleigh each had the lowest at 3.1 percent.

The September not seasonally adjusted statewide rate was 3.8 percent.

When compared to the same month last year, not seasonally adjusted unemployment rates decreased in all 100 counties. All 15 of the state’s metro areas experienced rate decreases over the year.

The number of workers employed statewide (not seasonally adjusted) increased in September by 50,703 to 4,855,844, while those unemployed decreased by 31,405 to 189,745. Since September 2020, the number of workers employed statewide increased 197,307, while those unemployed decreased 167,763.