Area unemployment numbers rise

July unemployment rates in Craven, Pamlico and Jones counties were up significantly over the same month a year go.

New figures from N.C. Employment Security Commission show that unemployment for the month was up 26.7 percent over July 2007 in Craven County. The jobless rate was up 33.3 percent in Pamlico County and 41.8 percent in Jones County.

These numbers don't include cuts at Hatters Yachts, a major employer that eliminated 325 jobs in the area last week.

On Monday, more than 200 of the former Hatteras workers attended a job-services fair sponsored by N.C. Job Link, said Mary Brown, area director of the Employment Security Commission.

It was aimed at getting the workers registered for unemployment insurance benefits and showing job availability and requirements, and Brown said that "the feedback we received was very positive."

The jobless rate in Craven, Pamlico and Jones counties was up in July over June, from 5.5 to 6 percent for Craven, 5.3 to 6 percent in Pamlico and 5.9 to 6.7 percent for Jones.

An addition of nearly 1,000 people to the labor market in July in Craven County over January accounts for some of the unemployment rate increase, said Brown.

"I look at that as a positive because it hopefully says there is the belief and expectation that jobs are out there," she said. Some are newcomers to the area and others are those who for various reasons are once again looking for work.

A decline in housing starts may account for part of the unemployment increase in Craven, Brown said.

By the end of June 2007, housing permits issued in Craven County totaled 388. For the same time in 2008 that total is 258, which off by nearly one-third.

"New corporations are also down substantially," Brown said. By this time last year 62 new corporations had been listed in the three counties, compared with 41 so far this year.

While rates are up here, they all remain under North Carolina's 6.8 percent average unemployment rate.