The state's jobless rate reached its lowest level — 9.7 percent — in more than two years during February, the N.C. Employment Security Commission said Friday.
North Carolina also experienced its largest net gain in jobs in 10 months.
However, those pieces of good news were tempered by the fact the rate decrease of 0.1 percentage point likely was caused — again — by more North Carolinians dropping out of the work force than by employer hiring.
Despite the net gain of 17,400 nonfarm jobs, the state's workforce rose by just 1,210 in February, while 4,275 fewer North Carolinians were listed as unemployed.
"We are showing signs of slow but steady progress, with job gains in February and over the year," said Lynn Holmes, chairwoman of the commission.
The jobless rate was 11.4 percent in February 2010.
Still, from February 2010 to February 2011, the state's labor force is down 91,962 to 4.46 million — 7,220 fewer listed as employed and 84,742 fewer listed as unemployed.
When people drop out of the job market, they are no longer considered as unemployed, which can be a factor in lowering the jobless rate.
The traditional jobless rate does not include several categories of workers, including those who have stopped looking for work, are underemployed for their skills, are able to work full time but can get only part-time work, are receiving severance packages after the elimination of their jobs, or have exhausted their state and federal unemployment benefits.
North Carolina has lost 292,500 jobs overall, or 7 percent of its payroll-employment base, since December 2007, according to South by North, a Chapel Hill research firm that specializes in economic and social policy.
"Solid job growth was a nice change from the unimpressive numbers recorded in recent months," said John Quinterno, a principal with South by North. "The question is whether the February report was a one-off or the start of a trend. Even if the rate of job growth continues at the pace of the past year, the goal of a full recovery remains far in the distance."
The commission reported a net gain of 6,800 jobs in professional and business services, along with 4,500 in construction and 4,100 in education and health services.
There was a loss of 3,000 government and 1,600 trade, transportation and utilities jobs. All the job-sector categories are seasonally adjusted.
Recent hiring patterns indicate that women might be doing better in the current job market than men, said James Johnson Jr., a Kenan distinguished professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at UNC Chapel Hill. "Most of the industry sectors that added jobs in February are more likely to hire women than men, outside of construction," he said.
Lauren Coker, a senior regional vice president for Robert Half International, said that more employers are considering adding at least temporary and part-time help.
She said that many have reached the point where they can't stretch their current staffing any further and still respond quickly to increased demand for their products or services.
"There's still a lot of caution among Triad employers, so as they do hire, they want people with diversified skill sets to tackle more tasks," Coker said.
"Whether the increased hiring takes place now, or months from now, still depends on consistent demand for what they do."
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