Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks job market in North Carolina

Industry trends, wages and hiring signals.

The headline

North Carolina industry employment changed 0.9 percentage points above the U.S. benchmark

A data-driven view of the industries that employ Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks in North Carolina.

Verified QCEW 2026 Q1January to March 2026 · State coverage 97.75% · BLS QCEWCitationEvidence record

Occupation pay

What Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks earn in North Carolina

BLS OEWS occupation-level pay estimates for this role — separate from the industry wage trends used elsewhere in this report.

BLS OEWS source

Median annual wage

$43,040North Carolina
Middle 50% of published wages
$36,670 – $48,980
U.S. median annual wage
$45,260
Reference period
May 2025

The middle 50% is the 25th-to-75th percentile wage range, not an experience-level band. Suppressed or unavailable BLS values remain unpublished rather than being estimated.

Pay around North Carolina

How median pay varies by metro area

Published BLS OEWS metro estimates for Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks, compared with the North Carolina median of $43,040.

North Carolina median$43,040
Asheville, NC$45,210+5.0% vs. state
Middle 50%$38,510 – $50,170Published employment800
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC$44,960+4.5% vs. state
Middle 50%$38,260 – $50,710Published employment6,260
Winston-Salem, NC$44,790+4.1% vs. state
Middle 50%$37,010 – $47,540Published employment1,620
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC$44,160+2.6% vs. state
Middle 50%$38,250 – $49,250Published employment890
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC$43,630+1.4% vs. state
Middle 50%$36,310 – $49,920Published employment3,610
Greensboro-High Point, NC$43,570+1.2% vs. state
Middle 50%$36,500 – $49,690Published employment2,080
View 10 more published metro areas
Raleigh-Cary, NC$43,300+0.6% vs. state
Middle 50%$36,910 – $49,610Published employment2,230
Burlington, NC$42,780−0.6% vs. state
Middle 50%$35,710 – $47,130Published employment310
Fayetteville, NC$42,750−0.7% vs. state
Middle 50%$35,640 – $48,820Published employment450
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC$42,520−1.2% vs. state
Middle 50%$36,460 – $48,860Published employment1,190
Wilmington, NC$39,630−7.9% vs. state
Middle 50%$35,210 – $47,180Published employment550
Rocky Mount, NC$39,600−8.0% vs. state
Middle 50%$35,300 – $46,790Published employment210
Greenville, NC$37,990−11.7% vs. state
Middle 50%$35,570 – $44,680Published employment270
Jacksonville, NC$37,530−12.8% vs. state
Middle 50%$33,760 – $48,070Published employment130
Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC$36,640−14.9% vs. state
Middle 50%$33,910 – $40,810Published employment140
Goldsboro, NC$36,600−15.0% vs. state
Middle 50%$33,760 – $42,470Published employment210

Areas are ordered by published median wage for readability, not as an overall job-market ranking. The vertical marker is the North Carolina median. Some BLS metropolitan areas cross state lines, so a metro estimate can cover workers in more than one state.

Verified snapshot

Market at a Glance

Key changes in North Carolina’s weighted industry mix.

+0.1%Industry employmentNorth Carolina industry employmentU.S. -0.8%vs. -0.8% U.S.
+5.3%Establishments in weighted industriesNorth Carolina establishments in weighted industriesU.S. +1.1%vs. +1.1% U.S.
+2.5%Avg. weekly industry wageNorth Carolina avg. weekly industry wageU.S. +3.8% · not occupation payvs. +3.8% U.S. · not occupation pay
+0.9 ppGap vs. U.S. industry employmentState minus U.S. industry employment change

Percentage-point gaps use the original published values and are rounded once; subtracting the rounded percentages can give a slightly different result.

Published coverage: 162,646 represented establishments, 88.61% of the published industry mix.

Local research

What the data shows for shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks in North Carolina

Findings describe the published observation periods shown below. Research published Oct 11, 2026.

This occupation is less concentrated in the state

Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks account for 0.78 times their national share of employment in North Carolina, according to OEWS May 2025. This is the published location quotient. The state estimate is 20,150 jobs, 2.5% of the national employment estimate for this occupation. It represents 4.08 jobs per thousand jobs in the state's OEWS employment universe. Concentration describes employment share, not current hiring or future growth.

OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWS

OEWS employment estimates describe covered wage-and-salary jobs and exclude self-employed workers; location quotients do not measure vacancies or worker demand.

Industry groups are pulling in opposite directions

A single industry employment figure combines an increase and a decrease in North Carolina in January to March 2026. Among the leading industry groups for this occupation, Private education and health services changed +4.1% year over year and Manufacturing changed -1.1%. The groups examined cover 93.3% of the occupation's national industry mix.

January to March 2026 · BLS QCEW

Pay differs widely between metro areas

Looking across 15 metro areas with published estimates on the same basis reveals a substantial pay range associated with North Carolina. In OEWS May 2025, Asheville, NC's median of $45,210 is 23.5% higher than Goldsboro, NC's median of $36,600. This comparison covers nominal wages, without assessing living costs or job availability.

OEWS May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Metro estimates may include areas in neighboring states. The comparison covers published metro estimates, not every part of the state.

Industry measures describe the industries associated with this occupation. They are not direct occupation employment, current openings or a state-level Job Market Health score. Findings describe published data and do not establish causes. Methodology

Employment trends

Year-over-year change in the weighted industries. The U.S. line is the latest-quarter benchmark because a comparable national quarterly history is not published here.

Latest published values
  • North Carolina · 2026 Q1+0.1%
  • U.S. · latest-quarter benchmark-0.8%

The chart will load automatically. Published values remain available in this report.

View every published value
Quarterly North Carolina industry employment changes and coverage
QuarterNorth CarolinaCoverage
2024 Q2+0.2%100%
2024 Q3+0.3%100%
2024 Q4-0.2%100%
2025 Q10.0%97.75%
2025 Q2+0.2%100%
2025 Q3+0.1%100%
2025 Q4+0.2%100%
2026 Q1+0.1%97.75%

How to read this chart

State trend and national reference

The solid line follows North Carolina’s published year-over-year industry employment changes by quarter. The dashed U.S. line is a latest-quarter reference, not a second time series.

Published quarters
8
Earliest quarter
2024 Q2
Latest quarter
2026 Q1
U.S. benchmark
-0.8%

Quarters with no published value are omitted rather than interpolated.

Industry context

Where Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks Work

The occupation mix determines which North Carolina industries are weighted into this view.

Industries weighted into the North Carolina Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks context
Industry groupOccupation mixEmployment changeEstablishmentsAvg. weekly industry wage
Trade, transportation, and utilities50.0%+0.2%60,190$1,200
Manufacturing28.0%-1.1%11,486$1,632
Professional and business services9.8%+1.1%90,970$2,041
Private education and health services3.9%+4.1%42,768$1,288
Other services1.6%+1.4%29,500$999
Construction1.4%Not publishedNot publishedNot published

Which industries are growing?

4 weighted industries are growing

Only weighted industries with a published positive North Carolina employment change are listed.

  • Private education and health services+4.1%
  • Other services+1.4%
  • Professional and business services+1.1%
  • Trade, transportation, and utilities+0.2%

The remaining weighted industries published a flat or negative change in January to March 2026.

Current North Carolina context

Current North Carolina Market Signals

Statewide indicators for all occupations in North Carolina. They are not Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks demand and are not part of the Job Market Health score.

Statewide job postings

Indeed job postings · North Carolina

Recent hiring-demand context · separate from the health score

112.3Postings index · February 1, 2020 = 100Observation: Oct 23, 2026
+12.3%Versus the February 2020 baseline
-0.8%Change over about four weeksSep 25, 2026 to Oct 23, 2026

Total postings index (seasonally adjusted) by observation date · baseline 100

The chart will load automatically. Published values remain available in this report.

View values: Indeed postings index
Indeed postings index
Observation dateIndex (Feb 2020 = 100)
Jul 24, 2026109.12
Jul 31, 2026108.76
Aug 7, 2026108.45
Aug 14, 2026108.49
Aug 21, 2026108.83
Aug 28, 2026109.76
Sep 4, 2026110.96
Sep 11, 2026111.82
Sep 18, 2026112.35
Sep 25, 2026113.18
Oct 2, 2026113.24
Oct 9, 2026113.36
Oct 16, 2026112.22
Oct 23, 2026112.30

This is statewide demand across all occupations, not demand for this specific job. Postings are not a count of vacancies or hires, and Indeed does not cover the entire labor market.

Source: Indeed Hiring Lab · CC BY 4.0. Seven-day average, seasonally adjusted; publisher refreshes weekly and may revise history. Retrieved Nov 1, 2026 · saved source copy. JobMarketHealth calculates the displayed changes and samples weekly observations for the chart.

Explore states and career fields · Methodology and limits

Statewide layoff notices

Statewide WARN notices

North Carolina statewide

15 notices in this source

Notice dates from Aug 5, 2026 to Nov 2, 2026 (UTC), a rolling 90-calendar-day period.

What this means: This is the number of WARN notices with notice dates in this period in North Carolina’s official statewide list. It is a statewide count only, and does not identify any employer.

Notices describe planned workforce changes, not confirmed job losses. Notices may be amended or withdrawn. This statewide context is not occupation-specific and does not affect the Job Market Health score. WARN covers qualifying large layoffs and closures under applicable law, not all layoffs, and thresholds vary by state.

North Carolina Department of Commerce About WARN data

Source last checked

Career context

Related roles from the occupation’s published O*NET profile.

Questions answered by this release

Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks in North Carolina FAQs

Each answer is limited to what QCEW 2026 Q1 actually publishes for this state.

Is employment growing for Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks in North Carolina?

The available QCEW measure is not direct occupation employment. Employment across the North Carolina industries weighted to Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks changed +0.1% year over year in January to March 2026, compared with -0.8% nationwide.

Are wages for Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks rising in North Carolina?

QCEW does not publish pay for Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks in this view. Average weekly wages across the weighted industries changed +2.5% year over year; that must not be read as an occupation salary change.

How complete is this North Carolina industry view?

The three core state trends each meet the site’s coverage floor; the minimum published coverage is 97.75% of the occupation’s industry mix.

Does this page show current Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks openings?

No. QCEW measures industry employment, establishments and wages. Any postings, news or WARN figures shown here are statewide context and are not occupation-specific openings.

Methodology & sourcesQCEW 2026 Q1 · coverage 97.75% · full evidence record

Methodology & Sources

Derived by JobMarketHealth from BLS QCEW + published occupation industry mix. This is occupation-weighted industry context, not direct occupation employment and not a count of current job openings.

Occupation
Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks
SOC code
43-5071
State
North Carolina
QCEW release label
QCEW 2026 Q1
Data period
2026 Q1
State industry employment, year over year
+0.1%State data coverage 97.75%
U.S. benchmark, year over year
-0.8%
Difference from U.S. benchmark
+0.9 percentage pointsPercentage-point gaps use the original published values and are rounded once; subtracting the rounded percentages can give a slightly different result.
Establishments, year over year
+5.3%State data coverage 97.75%
Average weekly industry wage, year over year
+2.5%State data coverage 97.75%
Industry mix vintage
EP-2025-2035
BLS publication date
Aug 28, 2026
Source verification
Verified against the committed source snapshotVerified Sep 17, 2026
Canonical record URL
https://jobmarkethealth.com/occupations/shipping-receiving-and-inventory-clerks/north-carolina#evidence-record
Derived by
JobMarketHealth from BLS QCEW + published occupation industry mix

Weighted industry conditions are not direct occupation employment, occupation wages, current openings or a state-level Job Market Health score. No causal explanation is inferred.

Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks in other states