Special to Iredell Free News
RALEIGH — Iredell County’s unemployment rate dipped almost a full percentage point to 5.8 percent in October, according to the N.C. Department of Commerce.
There are 87,946 workers in the county, and 5,134 were unemployed in October.
The October not seasonally adjusted statewide rate was 6.1 percent.
Iredell’s unemployment rate was 6.7 percent in September.
Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) decreased in all 100 of North Carolina’s counties in October. Scotland County had the highest unemployment rate at 10.5 percent while Watauga County had the lowest at 4.1 percent. All 15 of the state’s metro areas experienced rate decreases. Among the metro areas, Fayetteville had the highest rate at 8.3 percent while Raleigh and Durham-Chapel Hill each had the lowest at 5.3 percent.
When compared to the same month last year, not seasonally adjusted unemployment rates increased in 99 counties and decreased in one. All 15 of the state’s metro areas experienced rate increases over the year.
Iredell’s unemployment rate was 3.3 percent in October 2019.
The number of workers employed statewide (not seasonally adjusted) increased in October by 99,091 to 4,655,614, while those unemployed decreased by 37,449 to 302,413. Since October 2019, the number of workers employed statewide decreased 287,403, while those unemployed increased 122,332.
People exhausted their unemployment benefits are obviously not being counted. The numbers reported are never actually accurate. They’re higher than state reports due to various factors.