Jobless rates drop in Triangle metro areas
raleigh-Cary, Durham-Chapel Hill, Rocky Mount and Goldsboro report declines. Unemployment climbs a bit in Fayetteville.
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Unemployment rates in roughly two-thirds of the nation's largest metropolitan areas dipped in May as the gradual economic recovery spurred some hiring.
In Raleigh-Cary, the jobless rate dipped to 8.2 percent from 8.4 percent in April.
In Durham-Chapel Hill, the rate remained the same at 7.3 percent.
In Fayetteville, the rate ticked upward to 8.7 percent from 8.6 percent.
In Rocky Mount, the rate dropped to 12.9 percent from 13.1 percent.
In Goldsboro, the rate declined to 8.4 percent from 8.6 percent.
The Labor Department says the jobless rates dropped in 237 of 382 areas in May from April. It rose in 118 areas and was flat in 27.
The figures aren't adjusted to account for seasonal trends, such as lifeguards hired during the summer or retail clerks let go after the holiday shopping season. So they tend to be volatile from month to month.
Among the places seeing large declines in their jobless rates are Ocean City, N.J., Sandusky, Ohio, and Springfield, Ill. By contrast, areas in Louisana - hit by the BP oil spill - saw gains. Those includes Baton Rouge, New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner and Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux.
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