The state Employment Security Commission said today it is waiving all overpayments to long-time unemployed workers and halting the deduction of benefit checks that began this week.

The agency also said it would not cash any checks sent by workers attempting to pay back the bills they received in the mail over the last week.

Gov. Bev Perdue instructed the ESC to take the actions after consulting with her legal team and fedeal officials.

The ESC is continuing to negotiation with the U.S. Department of Labor about how to resolve the estimated $28 million in overpayments.

The ESC still needs to review each claim individually and is asking those who received claims to call or email the agency. To contact the ESC call 1-888-7370259 or send an e-mail to esc.ui.customerservice@ncesc.gov.

Officials with the state Employment Security Commission will seek to waive $28 million in overpayments made to about 38,000 unemployed people.

The ESC outlined a plan today that includes asking Gov. Bev Perdue to issue an order to forgive the overpayments with cooperation from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Perdue has spoken with DOL assistant secretary Jane Oates, who has agreed to work with the ESC to waive the overpayments, the ESC announced in a prepared statement.

The administrative errors that led to the overpayments have become a major black eye for the ESC, which recently mailed letters warning jobless people that they had to repay the money.

"I sincerely apologize for the confusion and inconvenience cause to our citizens over this issue," ESC chairwoman Lynn Holmes said in a prepared statement.

The Triangle's unemployment rate reversed course and rose in August, from 7.6 to 7. 9 percent.

The new rate was reported this morning by the N.C. Employment Security Commission. The numbers reported by the ESC showed a slight decrease in the Raleigh-Cary and Durham-Chapel Hill unemployment rates. However, those figures are not seasonally adjusted. The News & Observer reports figures that have been seasonally adjusted by Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte.

The rise in the unemployment rate was expected, said Mark Vitner, senior economist for Wells Fargo.

"Because the unemployment rate was so high this summer, fewer high school and college students joined the workforce than usual," he said. "Since not as many people joined the labor force during the summer, not as many came out in August, and that is shown as an increase in the labor force."

While other areas of the state were showed less of a change from July to August, the Triangle was particularly affected by this trend, Vitner said.

"It plays a bigger role in communities like the Triangle where you have a lot of college students," he said.

North Carolina's unemployment rate dropped slightly in August to 9.7 percent. That's the lowest rate the state has seen in more than a year.

The rate was a small improvement over the July unemployment rate of 9.8 percent, according to figures released this morning by the N.C. Employment Security Commission. The July rate was the first one in the single digits since February 2009, when the rate was also 9.8 percent.

ESC chairman Lynn Holmes said the state is beginning to see growth in the professional and business services sectors as well as manufacturing jobs.

"While local education accounted for most of the job growth, there was an increase of 4,800 jobs in the private sector," she said.

Local employers report a modest increase in hiring plans, according to the latest quarter survey by temp firm Manpower.

In the Raleigh-Cary area, 21 percent of the companies surveyed plan to hire during the fourth quarter, while 6 percent plan to cut their payrolls. That's a net employment outlook of 15 percent, a level that is the best in the nation, Manpower reports.

Nationally, 15 percent of employers plan to hire, while 7 percent plan to reduce their staffs.

The state's unemployment rate dropped to 9.8 percent in July — the first time it has been in single digits in more than a year. You can read more about that here.

It's a small sliver of good news and a reminder that  as companies begin to hire - even if it's ever so slowly - you're more likely to get the nod if you're prepared. Ford  R. Myers, a career coach and author of "Get The Job You Want, Even When No One's Hiring," (John Wiley & Sons,) says autumn is a good time to focus on your career. 

"Hiring managers are back in their offices making employment decisions for the fall and early 2011," Myers says.

He offers these tips:

1. Create and control your Internet image.  Whether it's LinkedIn, YouTube or Facebook, every professional should have an online presence. Most employers research job candidates on the Internet before making hiring decisions. Therefore, it is vitally important that you take control of your online identity, and carefully monitor the "personal brand" you're building on the Internet.

2. Tune into the network.  Early fall is one of the best times of the year to make new connections and find new opportunities. With folks returning from vacation and refocusing on work, there are many fall networking events, planning meetings and group happenings. These are ideal environments for productive networking.  

3. Perform an internal career audit.  September is a perfect time to take an honest look at your career — where you've been, where you are today, and where you'd like to go. Identify new goals based on your own definition of career success, take action, and then follow through.

4. Update your career "tool kit." Most job seekers use only their resume as the cornerstone of their search because their other "tools" are weak or nonexistent. But there are many other documents you should have: accomplishment stories, positioning statement, one-page biography, target company list, contact list, professional references, letters of recommendation, and more. These items are important not just to land the next job — but also to maximize your long-term career success.

"There really couldn't be a better time than September to launch a professional job search. Hiring managers are back in their offices making employment decisions for the fall and early 2011," says Myers.
 

North Carolina's unemployment rate dropped to 9.8 percent in July, marking the first time the rate has been in the single digits in more than a year.

Still, North Carolina's rate remains higher than the national average of 9.5 percent, and there are still more than 440,000 people without work throughout the state.

“Job growth across all sectors continues to be a challenge,” said Lynn Holmes, chairman of the N.C. Employment Security Commission, which released the new seasonally-adjusted state rate this morning. “We experienced job growth in some sectors but had a large loss in government due mostly to declines in local school employment."

The new July rate marks the fifth straight month of decline for the state's unemployment rate. In February it reached a 12-month high of 11.2 percent. The June rate was 10.0 percent.

The Triangle's jobless rate rose slightly in June, reflecting the fragile state of the economic recovery.

This region remains relatively healthy compared with the state and the nation, but the local unemployment rate is high by historical standards.

The rate increased to 8 percent in June from a revised 7.9 percent in May, according to data released today by the N.C. Employment Security Commission and adjusted for seasonal effects by Wells Fargo economist Mark Vitner.

The state's unemployment rate dropped for the fourth consecutive month in June to its lowest rate in more than a year.

In June, the state unemployment rate was 10.0 percent, down from 10.4 percent in May. Since February the rate has continually dropped from a 12-month high of 11.2 percent.

The news is obviously positive, said ESC Chairman Lynn R. Holmes. “Since February, North Carolina has added over 45,000 jobs, but we still have a long way to go. Through our offices statewide, we continue to provide services necessary to those customers searching for work and those who are eligible for benefits.”

In June, the number of unemployed workers in the state decreased by 20,468 workers, to 454,155. Since this time a year ago, that number has decreased by 43,803 people.

North Carolina's unemployment rate dropped in May for the third straight month to its lowest level in a year.

The 10.3 percent rate, reported by the N.C. Employment Security Commission this morning was drop from the 10.8 percent unemployment rate reported in April.

But the state rate remains well above the national rate of 9.7 percent.

"While there has been an increase of almost 30,000 jobs over the last three months, we continue to experience variation in the growth among the job sectors," said ESC chairman Chairman Lynn R. Holmes."We are committed to continuing to provide assistance to those North Carolinians who are eligible for benefits and who are searching for jobs."

In May, the number of unemployed workers in the state dropped by almost 21,000. However, the number of people still unemployed was still 472,614.