Durham County, NC jobs, unemployment and layoffs

Durham County’s unemployment rate is 3.3%. Employers filed 2 layoff notices here in the last 12 months. 757 open professional jobs are in its cities.

Durham County economy

3.3%
unemployment, Aug 2026
3.8% the month before
184,693
in the labor force
Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
329,405
people in Durham County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
$79,501
median household income
Source: Census ACS
57%
of workers in white-collar occupations
Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

Durham County layoffs

2
WARN layoff notices, last 12 months
154
workers named
A floor: states may leave out counts
1
employer

WARN notices filed in Durham County, newest first
Notice date	Employer	City or county	Workers	Type	Source
Feb 24, 2026	Merck Sharp & Dohme LLCTakes effect May 1, 2026	Durham County	147	Layoff	State record
Feb 24, 2026	Merck Sharp & Dohme LLCTakes effect May 1, 2026	Durham County	7	Layoff	State record

All layoff notices in the state

Employers hiring most in Durham County

Employers with the most open professional roles in this county’s cities. The county is taken from each job’s city, so roles with no city are not counted.

Duke University137 open roles
GSK48 open roles
Duke Health32 open roles
Labcorp Holdings29 open roles
Duke Health25 open roles
Fortrea Holdings25 open roles
Fidelity Investments17 open roles
Hewlett Packard Enterprise16 open roles
Durham County14 open roles
Novartis Patient Assistance Foundation14 open roles

Largest employers headquartered in Durham County

Cerence1,001–5,000 employees

Employee counts with a year are published figures (Wikidata). Other sizes are estimates from our company directory, not payroll counts.

Colleges in Durham County

Colleges in Durham County
College	City	Type	Students
Duke University	Durham	Private nonprofit 4-year	10,000–19,999
North Carolina Central University	Durham	Public 4-year	5,000–9,999
Watts College of Nursing	Durham	Private nonprofit 4-year	Under 1,000

Conferences in Durham County

Industry conferences and trade shows held in Durham County. 1 with dates announced.

Sustainable Fleet Technology Conference & Expo
Aug 17 to Aug 19, 2027 · Durham, NC
Paid ticket. 2027 pricing not yet published.
Open call for speakers

All conferences

Workforce development and job centers

The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving Durham County. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.

Durham Workforce Development Board
Durham

NCWorks Career Center Durham County
Durham · Comprehensive · 984-278-3000
Monday-Thursday, 8:30 am until 4:30 pm; Friday 8:30 am -1:00 pm CLOSES TO PUBLIC AT 4:30

Cities in Durham County

Durham757 jobs

Other North Carolina counties

All of North Carolina

Laid off or looking for work in Durham County?

See what to do first and the jobs open near you.

See your options after a layoff

Sources: Census Bureau and BLS (county unemployment is not seasonally adjusted); WARN notices from North Carolina’s published record; job counts from our live job board; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers.