But state officials fear that many other areas of the state might continue to experience high unemployment and other effects of a sluggish economy.
The Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Wednesday that the Triangle had 25,100 more jobs filled in February than it did at the same time last year.
The employment rate in the six-county region that makes up the Raleigh-Durham metropolitan area increased 3.8 percent from February 2001, trailing only Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif., in percentage job growth.
Martha Bowman, director of labor market statistics for the N.C. Employment Security Commission, said the economic diversity of North Carolina and the focus on high-tech industry in the Triangle shielded the area from the worst of the recession.
"North Carolina is quite diversified and Research Triangle Park is one area that maintains a lower unemployment rate because its industries haven't been hard hit," Bowman said.
She said job growth in RTP grew in health, engineering, accounting and education. Bowman said the health services industry added 11,200 jobs since February 2001.
But while specialized industries in the Triangle continue growing steadily, Bowman said residents in many rural areas were hit the worst. "Manufacturing is the industry that took the beating in our most recent recession," Bowman said, adding that manufacturing lost 51,600 jobs statewide during the last year.
She said other industries, including textiles, furniture and tourism, also laid off workers because of the economy. The rural areas of the state have suffered the most severe job cuts, Bowman said.
Some economic officials said the increased employment rate signifies that the state is pulling out of the recession.
