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NC’s Unemployment Rate at 9.4 Percent for the Third Month in a Row, U.S. Sen. Hagan Releases Statement

Courtesy of N.C. Department of Commerce Division of Employment Security

July 23, 2012. North Carolina’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 9.4 percent for the third consecutive month. 

“Since June of 2010, North Carolina has gained over 85,000 jobs,” said N.C. Department of Commerce Deputy Secretary Dale Carroll. “Over-the-year numbers also show gains for a majority of the job sectors. Our focus, along with our workforce partners, continues to be job growth and to put North Carolinians back to work with the help of employers and our employment service offices statewide.”

Seasonally adjusted Total Nonfarm industry employment, as gathered through the monthly establishment survey, increased by 16,900 to 3,963,100 in June. The major industry with the largest over-the-month increase was Professional & Business Services, which gained 6,400.

Since June 2011, Total Nonfarm jobs gained 37,000 with the Service Providing sector increasing by 38,600 and the Goods Producing sector decreasing by 1,600. The largest over-the-year increase of major industries was in Government at 13,000, followed by Education & Health Services, 12,100 and Trade, Transportation and Utilities, 9,400.

The number of people employed (smoothed seasonally adjusted) decreased by 7,909 to 4,216,644 over the month, but increased by 60,223 over the year. The state unemployment rate in June 2011 was 10.6 percent.

The next unemployment update is scheduled for Friday, July 27, when the county unemployment rates for June 2012 will be released.

It is important to note that industry employment estimates are subject to large seasonal patterns. While seasonal adjustment factors are applied to the data, these factors may not be fully capturing the seasonal trend. Therefore, when interpreting the industry employment changes, it is advisable to focus on over-the-year changes in both the smoothed seasonally adjusted series and not seasonally adjusted series.

**The N.C. Department of Commerce has created the Labor and Economic Analysis Division. This division brings together economists, analysts, and statisticians that previously worked in the Labor Market Information division of the former Employment Security Commission, and the staff of the Policy, Research, and Strategic Planning Division of the NC Department of Commerce.

For entire release, click here: http://www.ncesc1.com/PMI/Rates/PressReleases/State/NR_June_2012_StRate_M.pdf

U.S. Senator Kay Hagan released a statement regarding the recent unemployment figures:

U.S. Senator Kay Hagan commented today on the North Carolina Department of Commerce, Labor and Economic Analysis Division report that the state’s unemployment rate remains unchanged in June at 9.4 percent.

“Our unemployment rate has remained unchanged for three consecutive months now. This is a reminder that we need to do more to get North Carolina’s unemployment rate moving in the right direction. And we need to continue working on solutions that will get the people of our state back to work – not next year, not after the elections in November, but right now. I have been crisscrossing the state on my North Carolina Back to Work Jobs Tour for the past several months to focus on action and ideas that will get North Carolinians back on the job as quickly as possible. Today, for the 17th stop on my jobs tour, I am hosting a Jobs Summit with our state’s top leaders in commerce, workforce development and education to focus on improving current and future job creation efforts in North Carolina.

“The more than 400,000 people who are unemployed in our state cannot wait for action on jobs. That is why last week, I was proud to support the Small Business Jobs and Tax Relief Act in the Senate. The legislation would provide tax relief for small businesses – the engines of economic growth – to help them hire more workers this year. Unfortunately, though, partisan politics kept this bill from moving forward in the Senate. However, my top priority is job creation, and I will continue fighting for policies that create a better environment for our state’s businesses to grow and get the people of North Carolina back to work.”