RALEIGH – Turns out, September 2022 may show a positive change in North Carolina’s economy, even as the state’s unemployment rate ticked up by one-tenth of one percent.  That’s according to the latest economic index compiled by North Carolina State University economist Dr. Michael Walden, which was released recently and tracked five key economic indicators to forecast where the state’s economy is heading.

And, along with a rise in the index in September, job openings rose throughout the month, the data from the WRAL TechWire Jobs Report showed.

Still, as last week’s WRAL TechWire Jobs Report showed, the number of job openings across the Triangle have dipped in October, and today’s WRAL TechWire Jobs Report tracked a drop in job openings of more than 8% month-over-month.

Triangle job market slowing despite tens of thousands of openings

Yet some notable employers have added jobs in the last month.  Nevertheless, the 40 employers tracked in the weekly WRAL TechWire Jobs Report now have fewer than 4,000 job openings for the first time since we began tracking the company’s hiring needs earlier this year.

And in North Carolina’s tech sector, the top concern held by executives remains the state of the labor market with 86% of tech executives still planning to hire.  But the latest WRAL TechWire Jobs Report shows that the pace of hiring may be slowing, at least at 22 of the 40 companies tracked weekly by the report.

So what’s happening?

“It will be more difficult for firms in the Triangle to decide on a job strategy because they are faced by two factors pulling in opposite directions,” Walden told WRAL TechWire in last week’s WRAL TechWire Jobs Report.

Triangle job board postings dip, NC jobless rate climbs – but economists remain confident

Where are the jobs in the Triangle?

These employers are hiring

  • Duke Energy: 11 job openings in the Triangle, according to the company’s career page, the same as last week.
  • Eaton: 81 job openings in Raleigh, according to the company’s career page.  Earlier this year, the company announced plans to hire about 170 workers who will be based in the company’s revamped Raleigh office. There are 10 more openings this week compared to last.
  • Eli Lilly: 36 job openings in Research Triangle Park, according to the company’s career page
  • Fidelity Investments: 562 job openings in Durham, according to the company’s career page.
  • FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies: 40 job openings in the Triangle, according to the company’s career page, down 17 job postings from a month ago
  • Google: 260 job openings in Durham, according to the company’s career page.  The company is making cuts in some areas of the company but is expected to continue to hire for the Durham engineering hub, WRAL TechWire reported earlier this year.  The company is hiring for 51 more positions than it was a month ago. 
  • Grifols: 93 job openings in North Carolina, including in Durham and Clayton, according to the company’s career page, down 25 roles from a month ago
  • GlaxoSmithKline: 119 job openings in Durham, according to the company’s career page
  • IBM: 3 job opening in RTP, according to the company’s career page.  There’s been no change in recent weeks, though the company said it would continue to hire in August.

More Triangle jobs

  • IQVIA: 363 job openings in RTP, according to the company’s career page (down 10 jobs from a week ago and down 61 openings compared to a month ago)
  • Kyndryl: 73 job openings in RTP, according to the company’s career page
  • Labcorp: 298 job openings in Burlington, N.C., according to the company’s career page, an increase of 18 postings from a month ago
  • Lenovo: 223 job openings in Morrisville, according to the company’s career page, down 58 postings from a month ago.
  • MetLife: 114 job openings in Cary, according to the company’s career page.  MetLife told WRAL TechWire recently that it planned to hire 400 workers by New Year’s Day and will host an employer informational session through NC TECH today.
  • Merck: 15 job openings in the Triangle, according to the company’s career page
  • Microsoft: 8 job openings in Raleigh, according to the company’s career page.  The company confirmed last month that it planned to make job cuts, with some 1,000 workers affected.
  • NetApp: 103 job openings in the Triangle, according to the company’s career page
  • Novo Nordisk: 210 jobs in the Triangle, according to the company’s career page.  And even more jobs could be coming to the Novo Nordisk location in Johnston County, WRAL TechWire reported in October.
  • Novartis: 4 job openings in the Triangle, according to the company’s career page.  The company is closing a Wilson plant. 
  • Pendo: 11 job openings in Raleigh, according to the company’s career page.  The technology unicorn did announce there would be Pendo layoffs earlier this year totaling less than 5% of the company’s workforce, and less than two dozen employees in Raleigh affected.
  • Pfizer: 117 job openings in North Carolina, according to the company’s career page

Even more Triangle jobs

  • Red Hat: 30 job openings in Raleigh, according to the company’s career page.  Red Hat is owned by IBM and recently had a leadership change.
  • RTI International: 126 job openings in Durham, according to the company’s career page, up 12 openings from last week
  • SAS: 64 job openings in Cary, according to the company’s career page, down 63 openings compared to last week and down 93 openings from a month ago.  Some of the available roles are remote-based positions.
  • Science 37: 4 job openings that could be based in Raleigh, though some other roles are remote positions
  • Sensus (Xylem): 27 job openings in the Triangle, according to the company’s career page, which is down from 46 openings a week ago.
  • Spectrum: 40 job openings in the Triangle, according to the company’s career page
  • Syneos Health: 11 job openings in Raleigh, according to the company’s career page
  • Toshiba Global Commerce: 102 openings in Durham, according to the company’s career page, up 43 roles from a month ago.
  • Wolfspeed: 243 job openings in Durham, according to the company’s career page.  The company announced a $5 billion investment that is expected to bring some 1,800 jobs to the region, as reported earlier this year by WRAL TechWire.
  • Worldwide Clinical Trials: 58 job openings in North Carolina, according to the company’s careers page