WASHINGTON: Unemployment figures didn’t change between July and August in Burke County. The jobless rate for the county remained at 4.3 percent, according to the North Carolina Department of Commerce. With slightly more than 40,000 people in the work force in Burke County, that means 1,713 are still looking for work, according to employment figures. Unemployment rates also didn’t change in other counties in the Unifour area. The Unifour counties were among 49 who didn’t see a change between July and August, according to the state. The Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metropolitan statistical area kept an unemployment rate of 4.2 percent from July to August. While the metro area’s rate didn’t change, job gains were made over the month.
The government sector added 2,000 jobs over the period and the trade, transportation and utilities sector and the professional and business services sector each added 200 jobs. The manufacturing sector, the mining, logging and construction sector, the financial activities sector, the education and health services sector and the leisure and hospitality sector each added 100 jobs during the period. The state’s unemployment rate for August was 4.1 percent, which is higher than the other three states that surround it. Virginia’s rate was 3.8 percent and Tennessee’s was 3.3 percent in August, while South Carolina was just slightly lower at 4 percent, according to North Carolina commerce figures. The state unemployment rate for September will be released Friday, Oct. 20.
