Durham and Raleigh’s economies went two different directions last year

While the Raleigh metro area was one of the biggest winners for jobs last year, it was a completely different story in the Durham-Chapel Hill metro.

Why it matters: Durham shed around 3,800 jobs in 2025, according to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

  • The losses appear to be a direct reflection of the area’s exposure to federal research cuts.

State of play: Gerald Cohen, chief economist at the Chapel Hill-based Kenan Institute, told Axios the data suggests cuts to science funding hit the metro area hard.

  • Cohen said around 1,600 jobs were lost last year in professional, scientific and technical services, while another 1,800 were lost in manufacturing.

Zoom in: Big names to cut jobs last year, included:

  • Duke University, which offered…

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