MADE IN THE SHADE: Four-year-old Eema Haynes found that her straw hat came in handy as she visited the boat drag event at Oak Hollow Lake Friday. The weekend forecast calls for hot and humid conditions with temperatures climbing to 98 degrees today and 99 on Sunday. DON DAVIS JR. | HPE
The unemployment rate from May to June fell in Randolph County while increasing in the city of High Point and Guilford County. The rate remained unchanged in Davidson County, according to figures released Friday by the N.C. Employment Security Commission.
“The June county data show that for many of the counties in the state, the unemployment rate has showed some level of improvement. Unfortunately, there are many counties where the rate of unemployment remains high,” said Lynn Holmes, chairman of the ESC in Raleigh.
The city of High Point’s jobless rate increased from 10.6 percent in May to 11.1 percent in June. The city’s unemployment rate had fallen in February, March and April before increasing slightly in May.
One sobering reflection of the recession: The city’s jobless rate has been above 10 percent each month since February 2009. Prior to this streak, the city’s jobless rate never had recorded a level above 10 percent since the ESC started keeping municipal jobless numbers in 1976.
Guilford County’s jobless rate increased from 10.6 percent in May to 10.9 percent in June, but Randolph County took the opposite track, falling from 10.2 percent to 9.9 percent. Davidson County’s unemployment rate remained at 12 percent, one of the highest in the Piedmont.
The state reflected the ambiguous job market in the Triad. Last month, unemployment rates decreased in 35 counties, increased in 45 and remained the same in 20, the ESC reports.
“While North Carolina has added jobs since March, many communities continue to struggle with a lack of jobs relative to those seeking work,” said Alexandra Forter Sirota, a policy analyst with the N.C. Justice Center in Raleigh.
Unemployment rates exceeded 10 percent in 55 counties, and in 24 counties the rate was at or above 12 percent, according to the economic research firm South by North Strategies in Chapel Hill.
pjohnson@hpe.com | 888-3528
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