The state's jobless rate remains exceptionally high according to an obscure federal government measure of unemployment that takes into account those who are under-employed and those who got discouraged and stopped looking.

Using this measure, known as the U6 index, North Carolina's jobless rate was 17.6 percent in the first quarter of the year. That's nearly twice as high as the statewide jobless rate of 9.7 percent reported in March under the widely used jobless measure that's commonly publicized.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics issued the broader jobless measure this morning. The U6 is relatively new, not compiled until 2005, and it's issued every quarter, as opposed to every month.

Because the U6 index is a broader measure of unemployment some consider it to be the more accurate measure of economic health. The U6 is generally 75 percent higher than the standard measure that's much better known.

At its highest, North Carolina's jobless rate was 17.9 percent, as measured by the U6 for parts of 2011.
 

State unemployment dropped incrementally in December and came out virtually flat for the year even as the national jobless rate showed marked improvement.

North Carolina's jobless rate was 9.9 percent in December, down from 10 percent in November, according to numbers issued this morning by the Division of Employment Security in the N.C. Department of Commerce.

The 9.9 percent rate compares to 9.8 percent in December 2011, showing very little change for the past 12 months.

The national rate, meanwhile, was 8.5 percent in December, down from 9.4 percent a year earlier, nearly a full percentage point.

The Triangle jobs picture remained virtually unchanged in October from the previous month as the region's sluggish economy sputters into an unclear future.

The unemployment rate dipped to 8.7 percent in October, down from 8.8 percent in September, according to data issued by the N.C. Division of Employment Security and seasonally adjusted by Wells Fargo in Charlotte.

The Triangle jobless rate is now comparable to January 2010. Unemployment had entered a more promising interlude in past months during which it had fallen as low as 7.6 percent several times.

About 70,000 people in the Triangle were out of a job in October. If the region's economy had recovered and the jobless rate had fallen to 5 percent, then the number of unemployed would be about 44,000 now, said Wells Fargo economist Mark Vitner.
 

After rising for four consecutive months, the state's unemployment rate dipped slightly in October to 10.4 percent, according to seasonally adjusted data released today by N.C. Division of Employment Security.

The rate was 10.5 percent in September.

The state added 5,500 jobs in October, the majority -- 4,800 of them -- were government jobs.

Government job numbers have fluctuated wildly in recent months, falling 11,800 in July and rising by more than any other sector in August as teachers returned to work after the summer vacation.

The number of people unemployed in the state in October declined 8,273 to 466,568.

North Carolina's unemployment rate remains well above the national rate of 9 percent.

The state's unemployment rate in Oct. 2011 was 9.9 percent. 

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 loss of over 14,500 workers from the state's economy in August pushed up the state's jobless rate for the fourth consecutive month, further indication that North Carolina is still mired in a post-recessionary rut.

The N.C. Employment Security Commission said this morning that that statewide jobless rate rose to 10.4 percent last month, up from 10.1 percent in July. The August jobless rate is the state's highest in more than a year.

The data show that the size of the state's labor force declined by 2,777 people as the number of jobless outnumbered those who are getting paychecks.

The state has added an anemic 25,600 jobs so far this year. Economists say North Carolina would have needed to add about 40,000 by this point to put a dent in the jobless rate.

"To me it looks like the economy stalled in July and August," said Mark Vitner, an economist with Wells Fargo in Charlotte. "A lot of people are saying it looks like a recession because their pipeline of business has dried up."

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 Triangle jobs picture took a turn for the worse in June, confirming the economists' gloomy expectations.

The jobless rate for the Triangle inched up to 8.1 percent, up from 7.8 percent in May.

The regional economy shrunk by 500 jobs.

And the number of people looking for work also decreased by 1,000.

All three measures, issued this morning by the N.C. Employment Commission, show that the Triangle's economy is moving backwards.

"It's hard to be too optimistic," said Wells Fargo economist Mark Vitner. "The economy has much less momentum than we previously thought."

The Triangle's jobless rate cycled back down in May to 7.7 percent, remaining stuck in the range where it has hovered throughout the year.

May's jobless rate is a drop from 7.9 percent in April, when the regional and national economy had taken a turn for the worse. The Triangle's economy is much healthier than the state overall, which posted a jobless rate of 9.7 percent last month.

The regional jobless figures were issued this morning by the N.C. Employment Security Commission and seasonally adjusted by Wells Fargo in Charlotte.

N.C. State University professor Michael Walden predicts a slow-motion recovery over the next few years as North Carolina and the nation continue to deal with a weak housing market and high levels of household debt that built up before the downtown.

In a new report, Walden forecasts that the state's unemployment rate will be 9.2 percent at the end of this year, 8.6 percent at the end of 2012 and 7.7 percent at the end of 2013.

North Carolina's unemployment rate was 9.7 percent in May. 

Walden forecasts that the state's unemployment rate will remain above the national rate for all three years.

Job growth will accelerate from between 12,000 and 18,000 jobs this year to 35,000 to 55,000 positions in 2012 and 50,000 to 75,000 jobs in 2013.

Those gains would leave the state about 200,000 jobs short of employment levels before the recession.