NC Jobless Rate Inches Higher

Numbers released by the state’s Employment Security Commission shows 2010 as a year of static job growth – but better than 2009.

Numbers released yesterday show the unemployment rate edging up a bit – from 9.6-percent in October – to 9.7-percent in November and 9.8-percent in December.

Larry Parker is a spokesman for the Employment Security Commission.   He says the unemployment rate has increased because a lot more people are looking for work again.  One of the biggest job growth areas for 2010 was in Professional and Business Services:

"And that administrative portion of that is your temp agencies. We’ve seen some growth in that – nearly 18,000 jobs over the year. So we know that at least on a temporary level some people are getting hired out there."

This time last year – the state’s unemployment rate was 10-point-9-percent – more than a point higher than 2010 figures.