N.C. Unemployment Rate Reaches 10-Year High

The state unemployment rate for July was 6.8 percent, a roughly 1 percentage point increase from the previous year, when it was 5.7 percent.

In 1992, the state's unemployment rate was 6.1 percent. The rate hit its lowest rate in 10 years in July 1999 at 3.1 percent. The increase in unemployment can be partly attributed to the departure of industry from the state, said Peter Neenan, director of Labor Market Information for the N.C. Employment Security Commission.

He said various industries important to the state's economy, such as transportation, are increasingly relocating out of state or overseas.

"Any time there is a recession, there's a decrease in transportation," he said.

Neenan said much of the unemployment in the Triangle can be attributed to a decrease in the number of high-tech industries settling in the area.

But Orange County is largely spared from the state's unemployment crisis.

According to June statistics, only 3.3 percent of workers are unemployed in the area, compared with 6.7 percent for North Carolina overall. In June 2001, Orange County's rate was 2.3 percent and the state's rate was 5.7. The lowest unemployment rate in the area occurred in 1999, when it was 1.3 percent.

The national unemployment rates were 4.6 percent for June 2001 and 5.9 percent for June 2002. Results for July and August 2002 were unavailable for individual areas within the state.

Though the Orange County unemployment rate for June was significantly lower than that of the rest of the state, finding work is still difficult for residents and students alike.

Dianne Reid, economic development director for Orange County, said that the county rate is the highest it's been since 1992, when it equaled the current rate, and that it is rapidly increasing.

Reid said the rise in unemployment gives employers more options when hiring workers. She emphasized that when the rate was low, it was hard for employers to find people to apply for openings.

Increasing unemployment rates also make it more difficult for students looking for employment.

"As the rate goes up, it does get harder (for students)," Reid said.

Fewer entry-level positions make it more difficult for graduates to find work, causing a rise in the number of students applying to and attending graduate school, said Marcia Harris, director of University Career Services. She said estimates place the number of students attending graduate school at 40 percent.

Harris said the rising unemployment rate affects students equally, no matter where they applied for employment. "I think our students had to be more flexible than ever," she said. "(Those) willing to go wherever the jobs were typically found something."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.