Federal jobless data issued this morning shows that North Carolina's unemployment rate has reached an all-time high using the government's most comprehensive measure.
The state's jobless rate was 17.9 percent in the third quarter, according to the so-called U6 index issued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The previous high was 17.8 percent, set last year.
The U6 index includes people who are not counted in the more commonly cited jobless measure, the U3, which shows a 10.5 percent jobless rate for the third quarter.
The U6 was not tracked until 2005 and is still relatively obscure. Because it takes a broader view of unemployment, some consider the U6 index a more accurate picture of the national and regional economic situation. The U6 rate generally tends to be about 75 percent higher than the standard measure of unemployment, or U3 index.
The U6 index counts people who are forced to take part-time jobs because they can't find full-time work and people who have given up looking for work because even though they want a job.
The data released today show 479,000 people unemployed in North Carolina during the third quarter, including 272,000 who are classified as "involuntary part-time" and 36,400 classified as "discouraged."
Nationwide, the U6 showed a U.S. jobless rate of 16.2 percent in the third quarter, compared to the standard rate of 9.2 percent.
Nine states had higher jobless rates as measured by the U6 index, including Nevada (23.3 percent) and California (21.6 percent).
The lowest U6 jobless rates were North Dakota (7 percent) and Nebraska (8.4 percent).
The BLS calculates the U6 every quarter as an average over the previous 12 months. The update issued this morning covers one year through Sept. 30.
John Murawski has been a full-time newspaper reporter since 1991, with stints at Legal Times and The Chronicle of Philanthropy (both in Washington, DC), The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Palm Beach Post (in South Florida) before arriving at the N&O in December 2004. At the N&O he covers energy (nuclear, coal, renewable, efficiency), hydralic fracturing (or "fracking"), public utilities (both electric and natural gas) and health care. His beat includes Progress Energy, PSNC Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas, PowerSecure International, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Biogen Idec and others. You can reach him at 919-829-8932 or
Comments
..well...I'd ask ol' Phil
Fri, 10/28/2011 - 16:45 — wjolly..well...I'd ask ol' Phil Berger and his henchmen where the jobs are...but they are too busy eliminating them..and the tea-partying folk..are falling right in line behind him....as he leads them to the un-enployment lines....fools all....
Record unemployment rate.
Fri, 10/28/2011 - 13:34 — henryeWe are within 7 percent of what the state was in during the depression. What is it going to take before Congress puts an import tax on all goods coming into this country except for natural resources..We already have some protesting.. Do they want to wait until most of the Nation starts... Burning and turning over foriegn made cars and burning foriegn made goods in the streets. before they have sense enough to act.. Because unless something happens this scene is going to continue until the people get the change they want and why wait until the economy is completely destroyed.
Some are already
Fri, 10/28/2011 - 14:03 — LibSlayerSome are already protesting? You mean the OWS people who are posting to FaceBook, YouTube, and Twitter using their Chinese made iPhones?
Turning over foreign cars? You mean like the Obamamotors cars made in Mexico and Canada?
Whey didn't they attack, turn over, and burn Obama's Canadian made bus on his last visit?
And from the looks of a lot of the OWS losers, please lord, don't have them strip off their foriegn made clothes and burn them in the street. America couldn't handle such a shock to the system.
How's Captain Hopey Changey
Fri, 10/28/2011 - 13:20 — LibSlayerHow's Captain Hopey Changey and the Jobs Governor working out for ya?
It's going to stay high
Fri, 10/28/2011 - 11:55 — fournaughtIt's going to stay high until politicians (and the press!) stop paying attention to the people pushing austerity and budget cuts and get serious about creating some jobs. Unfortunately, most of them seem to be in thrall to those who believe the serfs should pay for the sins of the lords and that the masters of the universe should pay no price for wrecking the economy. Socialism for the rich, market discipline and looming poverty for the rest of us.
fournaught, Focus on
Fri, 10/28/2011 - 13:21 — LibSlayerfournaught,
Focus on creating jobs? I don't know what you are talking about. Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (D) says that private sector jobs are doing just fine and have been for some time now.