Unemployment in North Carolina reached 9.7 percent in January, the sixth-highest in the nation and the highest jobless rate in the state in more than 25 years.
According to a report released by the North Carolina Employment Security Commission March 11, the number of people out of work increased by 1.6 percent to its highest mark since March 1983-when unemployment was at 10 percent. The report states that unemployment increased by more than 73,000 workers, to a total of 443,069 at the end of January.
Over the course of the last year, the ESC report shows the jobless rate has nearly doubled from 4.9 percent in January 2008. Despite recent efforts by the federal government to control the economic downturn, labor experts expect the trend to continue for the foreseeable future, with the state's unemployment potentially surprassing 10 percent.
"I would not expect the job market in North Carolina, even with the stimulus plan, to turn around until the spring or summer of 2010," said Michael Walden, Neal Reynolds distinguished professor of economics at North Carolina State University, who specializes in the regional economy.
North Carolina's unemployment rate in January was more than 2 percent higher than the national average, which was at 7.6 percent. For February, the national unemployment average was 8.1 percent, according to a March 6 report released by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Although comparing state and national unemployment figures can be difficult because of differences between local and national job markets.
"We have a greater part of our economy concentrated in construction, and in a recession, construction jobs are often the hardest hit," Walden said.
According to the unemployment report from the ESC, the construction field lost 10,300 jobs in January, second only to manufacturing, which lost 11,500 jobs in the same month.
The large influx of new workers into the job market is another factor increasing the unemployment rate in North Carolina.Larry Parker, spokesperson for the ESC, said the increase in new workers and the loss of jobs are compounding employment woes.
"Our labor force has grown by 1.9 million people recently," he noted. "That's a lot of people to enter a job market."
With the bleak economic outlook, there are few options for those looking for employment, Parker said. He added that one option is for job seekers to go back to school to learn new skills and re-enter the workforce. The health services and government-funded education fields are the only two job sectors expected to grow between 2006 and 2016, Parker said.
The ESC provides workers who seek unemployment benefits with information concerning re-training opportunities, he added.
"We partner very well with the community colleges across North Carolina and we do provide people with the information for where they need to go to get those skills," Parker said.
In the Durham area, the Durham Chamber of Commerce is providing its members with information concerning possible business opportunities. When businesses begin to cut back on expenses, it causes a negative chain reaction for many other companies, said Sheena Johnson, director of communications and marketing at the Durham Chamber of Commerce.
"Once you start here and cut, there is a continuous process of companies doing less business with other companies, which ultimately hurts multiple businesses," she said. "Surprisingly, there are still a lot of economic developments in the pipeline."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.