High Country Times

Wilkes County recorded an unemployment rate of 5.8% among residents aged 16 and 65 years old in 2021. That’s 1,730 people out of the 66,335 living in Wilkes County at the time, according to data obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The unemployment rate in Wilkes County has increased compared to the 5.3% registered in 2020.

The percentage of people unemployed in Wilkes County was greater than the statewide unemployment rate of 5.2%.

Of the 28,082 people who had a job during that time, 85 were employed in the Armed Forces and 27,997 belonged to the civilian labor force.

Employment status	Number of people	Percentage of population
Unemployed	1,730	5.8%
Employed	28,082	94.2%
Employed in civilian labor force	27,997	93.9%
Employed in armed forces	85	0.3%