
{"id":4033,"date":"2008-11-21T20:40:56","date_gmt":"2008-11-22T04:40:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/?p=4033"},"modified":"2008-11-21T20:41:45","modified_gmt":"2008-11-22T04:41:45","slug":"local-unemployment-on-the-rise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/2008\/11\/21\/local-unemployment-on-the-rise\/","title":{"rendered":"Local unemployment on the rise"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Margot Carmichael Lester<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Staff Writer<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The U.S. Department of Labor released staggering unemployment figures for October (240,000 jobs lost nationally). But buried in the data was even more stunning news: September job loss data was revised up to 284,000 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c making September 2008 one of the worst month\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s for job losses in history. And, get this: At this pace, 2008 annual job cuts will surpass a million for the first time since 2005.<\/p>\n<p>The national trend is borne out here at home. September unemployment claims in Orange and Chatham counties (see chart at bottom of story) were up dramatically for the year, as more of our own are out of work.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>While it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pretty much impossible to say how much of the unemployment rate is directly attributable to the economic conditions (that sort of data isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t collected), the recession is having an impact on the numbers. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It could be several points,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Andrew James, director of public information for the Employment Security Commission of North Carolina. Before the recession in 2005 and 2006, the statewide unemployment rate was in the 4.5 percent to 5 percent range. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Now we are nearing 7 percent, so the slowdown might be the reason for that 2 to 2.5 percent increase.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Former Carrboro resident Kathryn Merritt is one of the unemployed. The writer\/editor moved back to North Carolina in July\u00c2\u00a0after living and working in London for almost 15 years and has been seeking a permanent job in communications at UNC or for a nonprofit in Chapel Hill or Carrboro ever since. <\/p>\n<p>Though she hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t put a time limit on finding a gig, Merritt says she may return to London if something doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t break soon. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Even though the recession is hitting there too, I had regular work, good contacts and didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to worry about not having health insurance,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Longer job searches<\/strong><br \/>\nAccording to data from the Employment Security Commission of North Carolina, the length of Merritt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s job search isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t unusual. Residents of the Old North State spent an average of just over three months looking for work so far this year. Still, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s better than the national average of 4.4 months reported by global outplacement firm Challenger Gray &#038; Christmas.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The biggest mistake job seekers make is being afraid and expecting results to happen to soon,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Steve Mullinix, a psychologist specializing in job stress and career transition for HRC in Chapel Hill. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A lot of people feel, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcWhat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wrong with me?\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 as their searches drag on. But remember, jobs are found largely through networking and making contact \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and it takes a while to get momentum up.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Active and open<\/strong><br \/>\nCounty Commissioner Mike Nelson also is in the job market. He was working for a small, start-up nonprofit that launched just as the economy began to falter. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Needless to say, it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t an optimal time to ask for donations,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. Lack of funding led to his position\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s elimination.<\/p>\n<p>Nelson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s working his considerable network for leads on jobs that would utilize his communications, marketing, policy and management skills \u00e2\u20ac\u201c whether in a nonprofit or commercial organization.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m looking at this experience as an opportunity to explore options, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m open to a change in careers,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said the Hillsborough resident. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Perhaps that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the silver lining. This could be just the opportunity I needed to explore new ventures.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bottom line<\/strong><br \/>\nNorth Carolina is home to a handful of growth industries like biotechnology, clean technology, information technology, health care and alternative energy. And most of those do have a large presence in our neck of the woods, which means things may at least be better here than elsewhere.<br \/>\nThat helps Nelson, for one, stay hopeful. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Historically, the Triangle has been insulated and, once again, we might experience a \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcsoft landing\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 as opposed to the high unemployment some areas of the country are beginning to experience,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153However, that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make the job search feel any easier or less stressful. Looking for a job in this economy is hard no matter where you live.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>CHATHAM CO.\tLabor Force\tUnemployed\tUnemployment Rate<br \/>\nSeptember 2008\t33,008\t1,811\t        5.5%<br \/>\nSeptember 2007\t32,908\t1,200\t        3.6%\t\t<\/p>\n<p>ORANGE CO.\tLabor Force\tUnemployed\tUnemployment Rate<br \/>\nSeptember 2008\t67,714\t2,869\t        4.2%<br \/>\nSeptember 2007\t67,925\t2,018\t        3.0%\t\t<\/p>\n<p>STATEWIDE.\tLabor Force\tUnemployed\tUnemployment Rate<br \/>\nSeptember 2008\t4.7 million\t300,308\t        6.6%<br \/>\nSeptember 2007\t4.5 million\t197,970\t        4.4%<br \/>\nSource: North Carolina Employment Security Commission<\/p>\n<p><em>Editor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Note:  \u00e2\u20ac\u201d This story is the first in a series about jobs and the local economy. If the recession has affected you or your business, please drop a line to margot@carrborocitizen.com and we might tell your story in an upcoming installment.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Margot Carmichael Lester Staff Writer The U.S. Department of Labor released staggering unemployment figures for October (240,000 jobs lost nationally). But buried in the data was even more stunning news: September job loss data was revised up to 284,000 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c making September 2008 one of the worst month\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s for job losses in history. And,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4033"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4033\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4035,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4033\/revisions\/4035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}