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Wake County, NC jobs, unemployment and layoffs

Wake County’s unemployment rate is 3.1%. Employers filed 11 layoff notices here in the last 12 months. 2,180 open professional jobs are in its cities.

Wake County economy

  • 3.1%

    unemployment, Aug 2026

    3.5% the month before

  • 693,706

    in the labor force

    Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics

  • 1,151,009

    people in Wake County

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau

  • $101,763

    median household income

    Source: Census ACS

  • 57%

    of workers in white-collar occupations

    Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

Wake County layoffs

  • 11

    WARN layoff notices, last 12 months

  • 908

    workers named

    A floor: states may leave out counts

  • 11

    employers

WARN notices filed in Wake County, newest first
Notice dateEmployerCity or countyWorkersTypeSource
Frito Lay, Inc.Takes effect Sep 6, 2026Wake County65ClosureState record
Asensus Surgical, Inc.Takes effect Mar 31, 2027Wake County108LayoffState record
UbisoftTakes effect Aug 10, 2026Wake County17LayoffState record
Republic National Distributing Company, LLCTakes effect Sep 29, 2026Wake County14ClosureState record
Epic GamesTakes effect Mar 27, 2026Wake County211LayoffState record
Red Storm Entertainment, Inc.Takes effect Sep 18, 2026Wake County105LayoffState record
Saks & Company LLCTakes effect May 31, 2026Wake County43LayoffState record
Avantor Fluid Handling, LLCTakes effect Jul 10, 2026Wake County54ClosureState record
Wells FargoTakes effect Jun 27, 2026Wake County138LayoffState record
GMRI, Inc. dba Bahama BreezeTakes effect Apr 5, 2026Wake County75ClosureState record
Avelo Airlines, Inc.Takes effect Mar 6, 2026Wake County78ClosureState record

All layoff notices in the state

Employers hiring most in Wake 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.

  1. First Citizens Bank60 open roles
  2. Epic Games40 open roles
  3. Gene B Glick Family Housing Foundation27 open roles
  4. MaintainX23 open roles
  5. Charter Communications21 open roles
  6. IXL Learning19 open roles
  7. WakeMed18 open roles
  8. Thermo Fisher Scientific17 open roles
  9. Bandwidth16 open roles
  10. Eaton16 open roles

Largest employers headquartered in Wake County

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

Colleges in Wake County

Colleges in Wake County
CollegeCityTypeStudents
North Carolina State University at RaleighRaleighPublic 4-year20,000+
Meredith CollegeRaleighPrivate nonprofit 4-year1,000–4,999
Southeastern Baptist Theological SeminaryWake ForestPrivate nonprofit 4-year1,000–4,999
Saint Augustine's UniversityRaleighPrivate nonprofit 4-yearUnder 1,000
Shaw UniversityRaleighPrivate nonprofit 4-yearUnder 1,000
Shepherds Theological SeminaryCaryPrivate nonprofit 4-yearUnder 1,000
Southeastern Free Will Baptist Bible CollegeWendellPrivate nonprofit 4-yearUnder 1,000
William Peace UniversityRaleighPrivate nonprofit 4-yearUnder 1,000

Conferences in Wake County

Industry conferences and trade shows held in Wake County. 6 with dates announced.

  • PDA Annual Meeting (PDA Week)

    Mar 15 to Mar 17, 2027 · Raleigh, NC

    Paid ticket. Fees not yet published; PDA Week runs Mar 14-18 with pre-meeting events.

    Open call for speakers · deadline Aug 31, 2026

  • PDA Miniverse Conference

    Mar 15 to Mar 17, 2027 · Raleigh, NC

    Paid ticket. Registration coming soon.

    Open call for speakers · deadline Feb 1, 2027

  • APPA Engineering & Operations Conference

    Apr 11 to Apr 14, 2027 · Raleigh, NC

    Ticket $995 to $2,090. Early bird by Feb 22: $995 member / $1,990 non-member; later $1,095 / $2,090; preconference seminars $395.

  • Pendomonium

    May 3 to May 5, 2027 · Raleigh, NC

    Paid ticket. Save-the-date; registration price not yet published.

  • Training Industry Conference & Expo (TICE)

    Jun 8 to Jun 10, 2027 · Raleigh, NC

    Paid ticket. Fees not read.

    Open call for speakers

  • SCUP Annual Conference

    Jul 18 to Jul 20, 2027 · Raleigh, NC

    Paid ticket. Price not listed on the overview page.

All conferences

Workforce development and job centers

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

  • NCWorks Career Center- Capital Area (Raleigh-Swinburne)

    Raleigh · Affiliate · 919-212-7104

    Mon-Thurs 8:30am - 5:00pm Fri 8:30am-2:00pm

  • NCWorks Career Center- Capital Area (Raleigh)

    Raleigh · Comprehensive · 919-715-0111

    Mon. - Thurs. 8:30 am - 5:00 pm Fri 8:30am-2:00pm

  • NCWorks Career Center- Capital Area (Swinburne Street)

    Raleigh · Affiliate · 919-250-3770

    Mon-Thurs. 8:30am -5:00pm Fri 8:30am-2:00pm

  • NCWorks Career Center- Capital Area (Wake Forest)

    Wake Forest · Affiliate · 919-562-6379

    Mon -Thurs 8:30am -5:00pm Fri 8:30am-2:00pm

Cities in Wake County

Other North Carolina counties

All of North Carolina

Laid off or looking for work in Wake 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.