Cary's jobless rate fell to 2.6% in September, from 3% a year earlier. About 2,700 residents were looking for work, 414 fewer than in September 2025.

Cary’s unemployment rate fell to 2.6% in September. That is down from 2.9% in August and 3% in September 2025.

It is the lowest rate for the town since December 2024, when it was also 2.6%. It is the lowest September figure since 2022.

The numbers come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Local Area Unemployment Statistics for Cary. The September figure is preliminary, and the bureau can revise it next month. The rates are not seasonally adjusted, so the fairest comparison is with the same month a year earlier.

The numbers

About 2,691 Cary residents were unemployed and looking for work in September, the bureau estimates. That is 414 fewer than a year earlier, when the figure was 3,105.

Cary residents September 2025 September 2026 Change
In the labor force 102,510 102,954 +444
Employed 99,405 100,263 +858
Unemployed 3,105 2,691 -414
Unemployment rate 3% 2.6% -0.4 points

The labor force counts residents who have a job or are actively looking for one. The figures count where people live, not where they work, so a Cary resident with a job in Raleigh or Durham counts as employed in Cary.

Cary, Wake County and North Carolina

Cary’s rate is below both the county and the state.

Area September 2025 September 2026
Cary 3% 2.6%
Wake County 3.1% 2.8%
North Carolina 3.7% 3.1%

All three figures for September 2026 are preliminary and not seasonally adjusted.

Month by month

Line chart of Cary's monthly unemployment rate: 3.2% in November 2025, 2.8% in December, 3.2% in January 2026, 3.1% in February, 2.9% in March, 2.8% in April, May and June, 3% in July, 2.9% in August and 2.6% in September 2026.
Cary's unemployment rate by month. Chart by Cary Daily; data U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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The rate is higher in summer than in the fall. In summer 2025 it peaked at 3.4% in August. This summer’s high was 3% in July.

There is no figure for October 2025. The bureau did not publish one because of the 2025 lapse in federal appropriations, the government shutdown.

What it means for you

  • Job seekers: about 414 fewer Cary residents were looking for work than a year ago, and Cary’s rate is below Wake County’s 2.8% and the state’s 3.1%.
  • Employers: the pool of unemployed residents is the smallest for a September since 2022.
  • The wider picture: for the housing side of the local economy, see our Cary home prices page; for who lives here, see Cary’s population.

We will update this story when the bureau publishes October’s figures.