It’s about the economy.

Just a quick update on some unemployment numbers in North Carolina, which tells a lot about the state of the economy in our state.  The May numbers will be out in a week or so but here are  the numbers through April.

  1. 439,368 people in North Carolina are counted as unemployed.
  2. In January 2008, the unemployment rate in NC was 5.1%, in January 2009, it had risen to 9%.
  3. The unemployment rate in North Carolina has been 9% or higher for 40 months.

There isn’t much good news and the May unemployment rate is expected to exceed 9% again.

Kudos go out to the NC General Assembly for working towards a balanced budget with no tax increases, getting government off the backs of businesses and reforming education to ensure a well trained workforce. Unemployment numbers and jobs reports tell us a lot about the health of our state.

There’s a lot of work to be done and it’s all about the economy.  A healthy economy creates jobs.