NC's unemployment rate holds steady at 5.3 percent in February
The number of people listed as unemployed in North Carolina dropped by 174 in the second month of 2015, but the state's unemployment rate held steady at 5.3 percent during February, according to data released Friday by the state Department of Commerce.
Posted — Updated
North Carolina's jobless rate remains slightly lower than the national average, which was 5.5 percent in February.
More than 30,500 additional people landed jobs in February, raising the number of workers to more than 4.4 million.
About the same number of people entered North Carolina's growing labor force, meaning they were looking for jobs or working. The growing labor force helps to explain why the unemployment rate didn't change in February despite more people landing jobs. The state's labor force – the number of people employed plus those actively looking for work – increased by 30,388 in February, to 4,677,063.
"Up until about six months ago, the major portion of the improvement in the unemployment rate was people leaving the labor force," said William "Woody" Hall, an economist at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
For more than six years after the outbreak of the Great Recession, North Carolina had a consistently higher unemployment rate than the national average until the middle of last year. Since then, the state's jobless rate has been lower than the national average.
Hill believes the state's improving jobs picture owes much to this dynamic: Industries tied to expanding population growth like real estate, construction, mortgage lending and other financial services, and business services like architects have been bouncing back after taking a nosedive during the recession. Construction and business services have been two of the state's fastest-growing employment sectors in the past year.
"Those sectors have apparently bottomed out. We've not seen the kind of growth that we saw prior to 2008, but we are seeing some growth in those sectors," Hill said. "The point being is that people who weren't looking for work are now looking for work and finding work. It's a relatively recent phenomenon."
Average manufacturing hours worked per week and hourly earnings for production workers have also increased in the past year, pointing to a rebound in that crucial and high-paying field, state data show.
Employers in education and health services, trade, transportation and utilities and construction recorded major job gains during the month, but government, leisure and hospitality services and manufacturing recorded losses.
The state's unemployment rate is down 1.2 percentage points since February 2014.
• Credits
Copyright 2024 by WRAL.com and the Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
