NC’s unemployment rate has been stuck at 5th highest in the nation for what seems to be forever. But the unemployment figures just released for July reveal a change in that ranking, unfortunately not for the better. Per the N&O:
The unemployment rate in North Carolina inched higher in July, the first uptick in the closely watched economic indicator since January.
The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose one-tenth of a percentage point to 8.9 percent last month, according to data released Monday by the state Department of Commerce’s Labor and Economic Analysis Division.
“It was a disappointing month,” said Mekael Teshome, a PNC Financial Services Group economist.
Although the jobless rate was seven-tenths of a percentage point lower than it was a year ago, North Carolina’s unemployment rate is tied with Rhode Island for the third-worst in the nation. Only Illinois, at 9.2 percent, and Nevada, where the unemployment rate is 9.5 percent, have higher unemployment rates.
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