North Carolina Employment Security

Unemployment rate rises in Surry, across state

Figures just released for June show the unemployment rate rose across the state, with the Surry County rate reaching close to 11 percent.

In Surry, the rate rose from 10.2 in May to 10.9 percent in June, according to the N.C. Employment Security Commission. The ESC listed a labor force in Surry County of 33,016 with 3,588 people considered unemployed. Last year in June unemployment was much higher, at 11.8 percent.

Surry County had one of the higher unemployment rates in the area in June. Of surrounding counties, Alleghany was higher at 11.6 percent, and Wilkes had a rate of 12.5 percent. Lower were Stokes at 9.8 percent unemployment, Forsyth at 10.1, and Yadkin at 9.3. From July 2010 to June 2011, more than $31 million in unemployment benefits were paid out to Surry County residents.

Though it is difficult to predict what will happen in the local jobs market, local ESC manager Bobbi Wessling has said over the past few months that she did not expect to see any significant shifts in the number of jobs for a while.

The unemployment rate increased in 91 of North Carolina’s 100 counties in June, according to the ESC. The statewide rate increased from 9.7 percent in May to 10.4 percent in June. The rate was slightly higher in June 2010 at 10.6 percent.

ESC Chairman Lynn R. Holmes released a statement saying, “What we are seeing in most metropolitan areas across North Carolina is a loss in government employment. This is partially attributed to changes in local and state education at the end of the school year.”

Holmes continued: “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.”

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Asheville has second lowest unemployment rate for N.C. urban areas ...

Asheville has the second lowest unemployment rate of all North Carolina urban areas, according to a PDF report released on July 28 by the Employment Security Commission of North Carolina. Durham/Chapel Hill’s rate is 8 percent, compared to Asheville’s 8.2 percent.

And Buncombe, Henderson and Polk counties have the lowest unemployment of Western North Carolina counties, the report shows.

The following chart and table compare North Carolina’s metro-area unemployment rates:

In WNC, the rates show that unemployment increased slightly for most of the region’s 17 counties between May and June, according to an analysis of the report by Carolina Public Press . Across the region, the rate held steady for only one county, Graham, the report notes. The top increase was in Rutherford County, which increased one percentage point, pushing the rate to 14.6 percent and the third highest unemployment in the state in June.

Across the state, unemployment increased in 91 counties, three remained the same, and six decreased. Seven WNC counties had rates higher than the statewide rate of 10.4 percent.

To download the full PDF report from ESC, go here .