Editor and Publisher
John H. Walker
TARBORO —
In the whole scheme of things, it may not seem like much, but for the second consecutive month, Edgecombe County’s unemployment rate dropped.
Preliminary data from March indicates an unemployment rate of 14.2 percent — down from an adjusted rate of 14.8 percent in February and 15.2 percent in March 2011.
North Carolina’s state rate was 9.6 percent, unadjusted for seasonal employment, as unemployment fell in 98 of the state’s 100 counties. Compared to a year ago, rates dropped in 85 counties, increased in 14 and remained the same in one.
Edgecombe County’s workforce was 25,243 with 3,592 persons unemployed. March was the third straight month for the workforce to decline, dropping from 25,786 in January and 25,568 in February.
Like the workforce, the number of unemployed has also declined — from 4,118 in January and 3,810 in February.
Even with the improvement, Edgecombe County climbed back into the state’s bottom five counties after climbing out in February.
Once again, Graham County had the state’s highest rate at 18.5 percent, followed by Scotland at 16.8, Swain at 16.7, Dare at 15.3 and Rutherford and Edgecombe, both at 14.2
The lowest unemployment rate was again in Orange County, at 6.0 percent, followed by Gates at 7.2, Henderson at 7.3 and Durham and Wake, both at 7.6 percent.
