Triangle unemployment rate flat; job numbers down from year ago
A drop in the region's workforce offsets a decline in employment and people seeking jobless benefits or looking for a place to work. When seasonally adjusted, the Triangle's rate actually increased from March to 8.3 percent from 8 percent.
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However, the number of people working and the size of the workforce are actually smaller than a year ago, when the rate was 8.1 percent.
The ESC reported 801,979 people held jobs in the Raleigh, Cary, Durham and Chapel Hill metro areas last month. That’s down from 804,115 in May 2010.
The unemployment rate dropped, however, since fewer people are included in workforce statistics. Only people working, seeking work or receiving jobless benefits are counted. People who have given up looking for jobs – the so-called “frustrated workers” – are not counted.
The number of people counted as unemployed also declined from a year ago, to 66,711 from 70,545.
According to seasonally adjusted numbers from East Carolina University’s College of Business, the Triangle jobless rate actually increased to 8.3 percent from 8 percent in March.
A year ago, the seasonally adjusted rate was 9.4 percent.
Jobless rates in other nearby metro areas for April:
- Fayetteville: 9.1 percent
- Goldsboro: 8.3 percent
- Greensboro: 9.6 percent
- Rock Mount: 12.5 percent
- Burlington: 9.8 percent
The state’s jobless rate as reported last week is 9.7 percent.
Unemployment did decline in more than half the state’s 100 counties and in 10 of the 14 major metros.
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