A monthly snapshot of North Carolina's economy.

• Position: NC TREND: Vital signs - Brief article

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EMPLOYED March 2015 4.46m March 2016 4.59m 2.9% CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE March 2015 4.74m March 2016 4.86m 2.5% UNEMPLOYED March 2015 272,935 March 2016 265,918 (2.5)% COUNTY UNEMPLOYMENT RATES HIGHEST Hyde 13.3% Graham 10.9 Tyrrell 10.3 Scotland 9.6 Dare 9.4 LOWEST Buncombe 4.2% Chatham 4.4 Wake 4.5 Orange 4.5 Henderson 4.6 TAXABLE RETAIL SALES (MILLION) Mar 16 Mar 15 % change Mecklenburg $1,482.7 $1,404.5 5.6% Wake 1,063.7 965.9 10.1 Guilford 518.5 475.5 9.1 Durham 483.2 441.4 9.5 Forsyth 379.2 328.6 15.4 Buncombe 328.8 291.7 12.7 Cumberland 314.1 299.9 4.7 New Hanover 295.2 263.1 12.2 Cabarrus 233.5 220.6 5.8 Alamance 167.4 150.7 11.0 TOTAL...