RALEIGH — The manufacturing, health care and retail industries continue to be the top three employers in Robeson County, according to the North Carolina Department of Commerce.
In a report obtained by The Robesonian, the Commerce Department ranked the state’s top employers across all industries. That same report also ranked top industries by county, showing little change over the past year.
Although the report only shows first quarter results, it provides insight into the industry sectors that play a key role in the economic needs of Robeson County.
Combined with the state’s most recent unemployment report, the industrial sector report begins to provide a more detailed look at the jobs available in the region.
According to the October statewide unemployment rate report, the top industries seeing increases were recreation and hospitality services, 12,800; Commerce, transport and public services, 7,500; Education and health services, 3,900; Manufacturing, 3,700; Construction, 2,200; Professional and Business Services, 1800; other services, 900; and Information, 200. The top industries that saw declines were Financial Activities, 900; Government, 800; and Mining and Logging, 100.
The October unemployment report by county is expected to be released in the first week of December.
Still, the recently released Top Sectors report provides details on which sectors are drawing on the existing workforce.
Rounding out the top 10 local industries based on total number of employees are:
— Manufacturing, 7,020;
— Health care and social assistance, 6,956;
— Retail trade, 4,852;
— Educational services, 4,325;
— Accommodation and catering, 3,206;
— Public administration, 2,694;
— Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services, 1,904.
The industrial sectors that offer the fewest jobs are:
— Arts, entertainment and leisure, 94;
— Information, 116;
— Real estate and rental and leasing, 130;
— Management of companies and enterprises, 147;
— Public services, 159.
According to Commerce Department officials, the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages “is a cooperative effort between the North Carolina Department of Commerce, Labor and Economic Analysis Division (LEAD) and the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor (BLS).
Quarterly Employment and Wage Statistics provides industry data from multiple economic reports for county, state and national regions.