Triad unemployment rate hits five-month high

By Richard Craver
JOURNAL REPORTER


The Triad's unemployment rate hit a seven-month high of 5.1 percent during January, primarily caused by the annual recalculation of how the N.C. Employment Security Commission measures employment data, the commission reported today.
The Triad's rate was 4.8 percent in December. The previous recent high was 5.3 percent in July.
The jobless rate for both the Winston-Salem metropolitan statistical area and Forsyth County rose to 4.5 percent in January from 4.2 percent in December.
The commission said that the 2006 unemployment data for the region and individual counties are being recalculated to meet federal guidelines, which is likely to result in most of the monthly jobless rates being revised. The state jobless rate already has been recalculated.
The benchmark is a monthly population survey by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to determine the national unemployment rate.
The commission reported that the jobless rate rose in 98 of the state's 100 counties during January.
One result of the annual benchmarking can be a reduction in the work force levels within the state's 14 MSA regions.
For example, the Winston-Salem MSA, which is comprised of Davie, Forsyth, Stokes and Yadkin counties, had 2,600 fewer jobs in January compared with December, according to the commission. The bulk of the job losses, 1,600, came in the trade, transportation and utilities sector, as well as 500 in government.
The Greensboro-High Point MSA was listed as having 7,900 fewer jobs compared with December, as well as the Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord MSA having 11,100 fewer jobs and the Raleigh-Cary MSA having 7,800 fewer jobs.
Fayetteville was the lone MSA that did not have a reduction in its work force during January.
"Right now, this is an over-the-month change," said Larry Parker, a spokesman for the commission. "It's a lowering across the state, based on not-seasonally adjusted data."