Latest report shows new jobs created
Aug. 4—HIGH POINT — A seasonal influx of teachers and school workers seeking summer employment pushed up the unemployment rate locally and across the state in June, but the rate remains down from the same time last year.
Other than the government services sector that includes education, local job creation improved during the month, said Mike McCully, an associate professor of economics at High Point University.
"Leisure and hospitality did the greatest amount of hiring," McCully told The High Point Enterprise. "Hiring in health services and in manufacturing was strong. And construction jobs continued to expand significantly despite rising interest rates."
The jobless rate increased in 98 of the state's 100 counties from May to June, the N.C. Department of Commerce reported Wednesday. The only counties where unemployment edged down were Dare and Hyde in eastern North Carolina, where tourism-related hiring traditionally picks up after Memorial Day. Both of those trends are typical for the period at the end of the school year and beginning of summer.
Compared to June 2021, jobless rates fell in all 100 counties, the state Commerce Department reported. The city of High Point reflects the statewide trend.
High Point's unemployment rate increased from 4.3% in May to 5% in June, but in June 2021 it was 7%, according to figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The June jobless rate remains significantly below the 12.9% rate posted in June 2020, after the business shutdowns early in the coronavirus pandemic.
McCully said the local job market isn't showing signs of recession. Last week the U.S. Commerce Department reported that the nation's gross domestic product contracted by 0.9% in the second quarter of this year after receding 1.6% in the first quarter. Two consecutive quarters of retracting production represents the onset of a recession, though there are other factors. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said last week he does not believe the U.S. is in a recession, pointing to the labor market as a sign of strength.
If the job market dips during the summer in a cross-section of economic categories, that may be from a slowdown in the economy, McCully said.
"I think we do need to pay attention to what the July numbers look like," he said. "Last July it started to turn positive again. Right now it's just a waiting game."
The number of workers employed statewide decreased in June by 13,268 to 4.9 million while the number unemployed increased by 22,766 to 209,855. Since June 2021, the number of workers employed statewide has increased by 220,290, while the number unemployed decreased by 63,454.
pjohnson@hpenews.com — 336-888-3528 — @HPEpaul
