Employers add few jobs in May; unemployment rate inches down
Employers in North Carolina added 1,018 people to their rolls in May, helping push the state's unemployment rate down a tenth of a percent, to 8.8 percent, according to the latest data from the state Department of Commerce.
More than 416,500 people in the state remain unemployed, down 2,451 since April, and the state's labor force shrank by 1,433 to 4,720,079.
The jobs and labor force numbers released Friday are factors in the calculation of the statewide unemployment rate, which was 8.8 percent in May, down from 8.9 percent a month earlier.
Leisure and hospitality services employers saw big gains in May, adding 6,300 jobs. Other industries, including trade, transportation and utilities, construction, professional and business services, financial activities and government, saw job decreases.
The unemployment rate has declined slowly but steadily since over the past year. The May 2012 unemployment rate was 9.5 percent. At that time, 4,266,183 were employed out of a total labor force of 4,712,515.
The national unemployment rate inched up in May, climbing to 7.6 percent from April's 7.5 percent.
