|
Jobless rate stays at 4-year high
(High Point Enterprise (NC) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sep. 27--TRIAD -- The city of High Point unemployment rate didn't shift significantly from July to August, remaining at a four-year high.
The city's jobless level inched up from 7.4 percent in July to 7.5 percent last month, the N.C. Employment Security Commission reported Friday. The impact on the city from the slowdown in the local, state and national economy is reflected in the noticeable rise in the local jobless rate from 5.1 percent in August last year.
The unemployment level changed little in Davidson and Guilford counties. The Guilford rate edged up from 6.9 percent in July to 7.1 percent in August, while the Davidson level inched down from 7.8 percent in July to 7.7 percent last month, the ESC reports.
The Davidson County numbers don't reflect the impact of the closing of the Stanley Furniture Co. Inc. plant in Lexington, which will eliminate 350 jobs. Stanley started laying off workers in mid-September, and the jobs should be phased out through next month, said Pat Hillard, manager of the Davidson ESC office in Lexington.
Randolph County recorded the biggest change, with the rate falling from 7.6 percent in July to 7 percent in August.
Randolph ESC office Manager Ikel Williams was surprised by the decline. He attributed the drop possibly to full -- and part-time workers returning to public school jobs last month.
"Seasonal workers started to come back to work. We haven't had any major hiring that came through the community," Williams said.
Statewide, unemployment rates decreased in 58 of the state's 100 counties from July to August, the ESC reports. Rates rose in 33 counties and remained unchanged in nine, the state job service agency reports.
"While unemployment rates improved in many counties, we need to keep in mind that the slowdown in the national economy is having its impact on North Carolina," said ESC Chairman Harry Payne Jr. in Raleigh.
The impact of the sluggish economy on the state was tallied in a report this week from the Washington-based Economic Policy Institute research group. North Carolina has endured a net loss of 24,000 jobs between December and August, including a net loss of 17,500 manufacturing jobs during that period, the institute reported.
To see more of the High Point Enterprise, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.hpe.com.
Copyright (c) 2008, High Point Enterprise, N.C.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
|
INDUSTRIES
Activate Email 
INDUSTRIES
Find Solutions for Enterprises, SMBs & Service Providers at the INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference and EXPO West, September 1-3, 2009. Los Angeles, CA.
