WASHINGTON: The Pitt County unemployment rate dropped in June and matches the national rate for the first time since the recession ended, while remaining slightly higher than the statewide rate. The county’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in June was 4.4 percent, five-tenths of a percent below the May rate of 4.9 percent and nine-tenths of a point below the rate in June 2016, according to figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and ECU’s Bureau of Business Research. It is two-tenths of a percent higher than the North Carolina rate of 4.2 percent, which was down three-tenths of a percent from May’s rate of 4.5 percent, two-tenths below the 4.4.-percent U.S. rate, which rose one-tenth of a point from May.
Pitt County employed 86,971 people in June, a 4.9-percent increase over May’s unadjusted number, Commerce Department figures indicated. “Hopefully, this is a trend that we’ll see continue,” ECU economist Jim Kleckley said. “I think it’s great that we had a significant drop in the month-over-month county unemployment rate — and over the year. It would be great if we could stay close to the state and national average; it’s been lagging behind for a long time.” Most economists do not expect to see big jumps in the employment numbers at the national or state levels, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, Kleckley said. “The expectations that we heard the administration talk about earlier were, to me, unattainable, even in the best of circumstances,” he said. “The economy has changed in many ways. One of the biggest changes that affects employment is technology, which allows manufacturers to increase output with fewer people. The same is true of the service industry, which has replaced third-party information processors with technology.”
The results of these shifts seem to indicate that the economic road the country is traveling is not terrible, Kleckley said. “Employment has grown steadily for more than 70 consecutive months. We haven’t had a recession in about 10 years. Those are good numbers,” he said. “Growth hasn’t been dramatic, but people looking for jobs can get them by and large. The numbers of people who get discouraged and stop looking for work also are down. Things can always be better, but they’re certainly not terrible and are much better than what we saw during the recession.” One view that could stand improvement is the regional perspective, Kleckley noted. All three economic zones in eastern North Carolina lag behind the four other zones in the state, signaling that the region has further work ahead to create jobs, he said. North Carolina’s Eastern Region, which contains Pitt County, had a 4.8-percent unemployment rate in June, compared to the 3.6-percent rate in the Research Triangle and 3.8 percent in the Charlotte region. The West region saw a 3.8-percent unemployment rate in June. Despite its significant internal improvement, Pitt County’s unemployment rate ranked 74th among North Carolina’s 100 counties. Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) decreased in 69 of
North Carolina’s counties in June, increased in four, and remained unchanged in 27, according to State Commerce Department data. Scotland County had the highest unemployment rate at 7.6 percent, while Buncombe County had the lowest at 3.2 percent. Year-over-year numbers show a big improvement statewide. When compared to the same month last year, not seasonally adjusted unemployment rates decreased in all 100 counties. All 15 metro areas experienced rate decreases over the year, the data showed. June’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rates in regional counties include: Beaufort at 4.6 percent, down from 4.8 in May; Craven at 4.2, down from 4.6; Duplin at 4.4, down from 4.7; Edgecombe at 7.0, down from 7.8; Greene at 4.1, down from 4.3; Lenoir at 4.2, down from 4.5; Martin at 5.3, down from 5.6; Nash at 5.6, down from 6.2; Onslow at 4.4, down from 4.8; Wayne at 4.7, down from 5.0; and Wilson at 6.6 percent, down from 7.2 in May.
