The state’s jobless rate rose for the second consecutive month in December to 9.8 percent, the N.C. Employment Security Commission said today.
The rate rose from 9.7 percent in November and represents a five-month high.
By comparison, the national rate dropped 0.4 percentage points to 9.4 percent — the lowest rate since May 2009 and the biggest one-month drop in at least 10 years.
The state commission reported a net gain of 2,300 nonfarm jobs during December, not unexpected given seasonal holiday hiring.
There was a net gain of 3,600 jobs in professional and business services, 1,400 in manufacturing and 1,300 in trade, transportation and utilities.
Those gains were offset by losses of 3,900 construction jobs and 2,300 leisure and hospitality jobs.
For 2010, the commission reported a net gain of 10,400 nonfarm jobs.
“Consistent job growth throughout these sectors will be the key to gaining back jobs lost during the recession,” said Lynn Holmes, the chairwoman of the commission.
However, the commission reported the number of North Carolinians considered as employed dropped by 2,121 during December to 4.03 million. The number listed as unemployed rose 4,385 to 439,167.
The state's labor force, at 4.47 million, is at its lowest level since July 2006, according to South by North Strategies, a Chapel Hill research firm specializing in economic and social policy.
The relevance of the unemployment rate has been questioned during the recession.
When calculating it, the commission does not include several categories of people: those who have stopped looking for work, those who are underemployed for their skills, those who are able to work full time but can land only part-time work, those who are receiving severance packages after the elimination of their job, and those who have exhausted their state and federal unemployment benefits.
A rate compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — the U6 index -— includes those people. State data are updated quarterly, while the national data are updated monthly.
The latest data showed that 17.6 percent of adults in North Carolina were without jobs on Sept. 30, compared with 16.7 percent nationally in December.
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