Source: N.C. Employment Commission, 7/29/11

Unemployment rates increased in 91 of North Carolina’s 100 counties in June. Rates decreased in six counties and remained the same in three.

“What we are seeing in most metropolitan areas across North Carolina is a loss in government employment,” said ESC Chairman Lynn R. Holmes. “This is partially attributed to changes in local and state education at the end of the school year. The ESC’s mission, along with our economic and workforce development partners, is to put people back to work. Our 89 offices statewide provide a wide range of services to help those looking for work. Also, the new Career Transition Center is now open to assist those state employees who have been laid off or affected by reduction in force.”

North Carolina had 46 counties that were at or below the state’s unadjusted unemployment rate of 10.4 percent. Rates increased in all 14 of the state’s Metropolitan Statistical Areas.
 

The number of workers employed (not-seasonally adjusted) decreased in June by 20,203 to 4,058,744. The number of people unemployed increased by 30,039. The number of unemployed people in June was 469,472 workers, compared with 439,433 in May.

Currituck County had the state’s lowest unemployment rate in June, at 5.5 percent. Meanwhile, Scotland County had the highest unemployment rate, at 17.1 percent.

North Carolina’s statewide unemployment rate (not seasonally adjusted) was 10.4 percent in June. This was a 0.7 of a percentage point increase from May’s revised rate of 9.7 percent, and a 0.2 percentage point drop over the year. Over the month, the unemployment rate increased in 91 counties, decreased in six, and was unchanged in three. Forty-six counties had unemployment rates at or below the state’s 10.4 percent rate.

Scotland County recorded June’s highest unemployment rate at 17.1 percent, 0.8 of a percentage point higher than last month. Edgecombe County had the second-highest rate at 15.5 percent. Currituck County had the lowest unemployment rate at 5.5 percent, followed by Hyde, 6.9 percent; Chatham, 7.0 percent; Orange, 7.2 percent; Gates, 7.5 percent; and Polk, 7.7 percent.

Unemployment rates increased in all 14 of the state’s Metropolitan Statistical Areas (Metros) over the previous month. The Rocky Mount Metro had the highest unemployment rate in June at 13.7 percent. The Durham/Chapel Hill Metro had the lowest unemployment rate at 8.0 percent, which increased 0.7 of a percentage point from the previous month. Asheville followed at 8.2 percent.

To read the full report, click here.