High Point's jobless rate was 4.5% in August, down from 5.0% a year earlier. But 338 fewer residents had jobs, and the rate is the highest among nearby cities.
High Point’s unemployment rate was 4.5% in August, down from 5.0% in August 2025. The drop came mostly from fewer people in the labor force, not from more people working.
The figures are the preliminary August estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Local Area Unemployment Statistics program, which publishes a separate rate for the city of High Point. They are not seasonally adjusted, so the fair comparison is with the same month a year earlier.
The numbers behind the rate
| High Point | August 2026 | August 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labor force | 53,302 | 53,951 | 649 fewer |
| Employed | 50,922 | 51,260 | 338 fewer |
| Unemployed | 2,380 | 2,691 | 311 fewer |
| Unemployment rate | 4.5% | 5.0% | down 0.5 point |
The BLS counts someone as unemployed only if they have no job and looked for one in the past four weeks. People who stop looking leave the labor force and drop out of the rate. That is why the rate can fall even when fewer residents have jobs, as happened in High Point over the past year.
The August rate was also down from 4.6% in July. It peaked this year at 5.1% in January and was lowest at 4.0% in March and April.
High Point against its neighbors
High Point’s rate was the highest of the nearby areas the BLS measures. All of them were lower than a year earlier.
| Area | August 2026 | August 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| High Point | 4.5% | 5.0% |
| Greensboro, about 12 miles northeast | 4.3% | 4.8% |
| United States | 4.3% | 4.5% |
| Guilford County | 4.2% | 4.7% |
| Winston-Salem | 4.1% | 4.7% |
| North Carolina | 3.6% | 4.1% |
All local and state figures are not seasonally adjusted. The August 2026 local figures are preliminary and may be revised next month.
What it means for you
- Looking for work: the state’s NCWorks site lists job openings near High Point.
- New employers in town: our new businesses page tracks openings in High Point.
- Next update: the BLS publishes city figures for September next month. We will update this story with them.
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