North Carolina’s statewide unemployment rate rose to a seasonally adjusted 9.6 percent in July from 9.4 percent in June, according to the N.C. Department of Commerce, reports the Charlotte Business Journal.
The number of employed NC residents fell by 13,733 in July to about 4.2 million, the Commerce Department’s latest employment report shows. The number of unemployed individuals increased by 5,321 to 444,694. The state’s overall labor force shrank by 8,412 to 4.65 million during the month.
A year earlier, the statewide seasonally adjusted jobless rate was 10.7 percent.
“In July the private sector gained 16,000 jobs,” Commerce Deputy Secretary Dale Carroll says. “When we focus on long-term growth, North Carolina has added more than 101,000 nonfarm jobs since January 2010. There continues to be a strong focus and commitment by our work-force partners and our employment service offices across our state to recruit jobs and to put people back to work in North Carolina.”
In South Carolina, unemployment rose to a seasonally adjusted 9.6 percent in July from 9.4 percent in June, according to the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce. The number of employed S.C. residents decreased by 22,700 to 1.85 million, while the unemployed group grew by 4,040 to 206,474. The state’s overall labor force lost 7,191 people to total 2.1 million. South Carolina’s unemployment rate was 10.5 percent in July 2011. Read More.