NC jobless rate is 17.5 percent by less-known measure

North Carolina's jobless rate remains near all-time high levels using the federal government's broadest measure of unemployment.

The state's jobless rate was 17.5 percent in the second quarter, according to the U6 index issued today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The U6 index includes people who are not counted in the more commonly used jobless measure: people who are forced to take part-time jobs because they can't find full-time work, and those who become so discouraged they give up looking for work.

The U6 index was first tracked in 2005 and remains relatively unknown, but some say it is a more accurate measure of the national and regional economies than conventional jobless statistics, which showed a statewide jobless rate of 9.9 percent in June.

The U6 index for the United States was 16.3 percent in the second quarter.

The U6 tends to be about 75 percent higher than the standard jobless index, known as the U3. The BLS calculates the U6 every quarter as an average over the previous 12 months, so the update issued Friday covers one year through June 30.

North Carolina's U6 measure exceeded the national average and was the tenth highest in the nation. The highest was Nevada at 23.3 percent, followed by California at 21.8 percent.

The lowest was North Dakota with 7.2 percent, followed by Nebraska with 8.4 percent.