According to the North Carolina Department of Commerce Labor & Economic Analysis Division, unemployment rates across the Hickory Metro and much of North Carolina dropped in December. Catawba County dropped from 3.6 to 2.9 percent, Alexander County from 3.7 to 3.2 percent, Burke County from 3.6 to 2.8 percent, and Caldwell County from 3.7 to 3 percent. The Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton MSA dropped from 3.6 to 2.9 percent, tied for fourth lowest among 15 MSAs in the state. Statewide, unemployment fell from 3.8 to 3.2 percent, with rates dropping in 96 of the 100 counties, and increasing in four, with Tyrell County at the highest jobless rate of 7.1 percent, and four counties tied for the lowest rate of 2.5 percent.
