The Triad took a breather from rising unemployment in August, with the jobless rate remaining unchanged at 7.1 percent, the N.C. Employment Security Commission reported yesterday.
The rate, however, still represents a six-year high.
And with much of the Triad's job growth in August being public-school teachers getting new contracts, the rate is not likely to drop significantly anytime soon. Teachers are considered by the N.C. Employment Security Commission as unemployed once their annual contracts expire.
For example, the Winston-Salem metropolitan statistical area had a net gain of 2,500 jobs in August, including 2,700 government jobs.
The remaining industry sectors had a combined loss of 200 jobs.
Employment officials and economists cautioned yesterday that the region hasn't felt the full impact of recent major job cuts at Hanesbrands Inc. in Eden (720 jobs at two plants), R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Reynolds American Inc. (combined 570 jobs), Furniture Brands International Inc. in High Point (300 jobs) and Triad Guaranty Inc. (100 jobs).
For the commission's purposes, the Triad is a seven-county region that includes the Winston-Salem and Greensboro-High Point metropolitan statistical areas.
Archie Hicks, the manager of the commission's office in Winston-Salem, said he was surprised that the local and regional rates were little changed considering that there was an increase in residents filing unemployment claims in August.
"This is probably just a lull, however," Hicks said. "Depending on what can be done to relieve some of the volatility in the financial markets, we may see higher rates as we near the end of the year."
Some economists predicted last week that the Triad's jobless rate could reach 8 percent by year's end. They made that forecast after the commission announced a 6.9 percent state unemployment rate for August.
The August jobless rate in the Winston-Salem MSA remained at 6.6 percent. It was 5.9 percent in June. The MSA comprises Davie, Forsyth, Stokes and Yadkin counties.
By comparison, the Greensboro-High Point MSA, which covers Guilford, Randolph and Rockingham counties, dropped to 7.1 percent from a revised 7.3 percent in July.
The rate in Forsyth County rose to 6.6 percent in August from a revised 6.5 percent in July.
Hicks said that the financial crisis and the slowdown in the housing market aren't the only factors affecting the local job market.
"With high fuel prices and shortages of same, the lack of consumer confidence may put a damper on holiday spending, causing less demand for retailers to add personnel," Hicks said.
One promising note for the Triad's beleaguered manufacturing sector is the plans of Thomasville Furniture Industries Inc. to add about 100 jobs over several months at Plant C in Thomasville.
The manufacturer also has plans to add at least 100 jobs at its Lenoir plant. The Thomasville move, as well as another recently announced by Broyhill Furniture Industries Inc., is a reflection of Furniture Brands' decision to return some wooden-furniture manufacturing to the United States because of higher logistical costs and higher labor costs in Asia.
"In this specific case, Thomasville had decided this past summer to build several casegoods collections in Lenoir rather than source from Asia," said John Hastings, a spokesman for Furniture Brands.
"The Plant C news is an offshoot of that decision, with the production of chairs going to Plant C because of workflow issues."
However, Furniture Brands has eliminated at least 8,726 jobs in North Carolina, including at least 2,740 in the Triad, since January 2000, according to data compiled by the commission. Overall, the Triad has lost about 9,510 furniture-manufacturing jobs since January 2000.
■ Richard Craver can be reached at 727-7376 or at rcraver@wsjournal.com
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