Jobless rate falls in Triangle

The Triangle's unemployment rate dropped slightly in April, to 8.6 percent from 8.8 percent. But there's little reason for celebration.

There are still more than 70,000 people out of work here, and economists caution that there is still a long way to go.

Unemployment rates dropped in 99 of North Carolina's 100 counties in April, according to data released Friday by the N.C. Employment Security Commission.

The data released by the ESC is not seasonally adjusted. For the Triangle jobless rate, The News & Observer reports data that have been seasonally adjusted by Wells Fargo in Charlotte.

"A year ago, the rate was 8.2 percent [unadjusted]," said John Quinterno, a principal for South by North Strategies, a Chapel Hill research firm specializing in economic and social policy. "We really, over a year, haven't gone very far. You could very much argue that nothing's happened."

At least for job seekers like David England, that's what it feels like.

England has been looking for work for 10 months, since he was laid off by a company in Sanford called Static Control, which makes computer chips that are used in laser printers and other products.

England, who is 42 and lives in Lillington, said he applies for a dozen jobs or more every day. His search has been frustrating at best.

"I did have one response for a company in Raleigh which does a lot of work servicing one-hour photo labs," he said. "I used to work at Kodak in RTP servicing one-hour photo labs. They finally ended up telling me they went with someone else who had more experience. How can you go with someone with more experience when you have someone with five years of experience in that exact job?"

Nationally, data released last week showed the unemployment rate was still at 9.9 percent. Statewide, it was 10.8 percent.

However, there have been some signs of life for workers like England. Retailers are beginning to expand again, with some stores from chains like CVS under construction. And the number of new homes started in the Triangle jumped 74 percent in the first quarter compared with the same period a year ago, according to research firm Metrostudy.

"We're making headway," said Mark Vitner, senior economist for Wells Fargo in Charlotte. "We're adding jobs, and we think we're well on our way. Our forecast for the year is 50,000 to 55,000 jobs that will be added in the state. ... But a lot of our economy is still based in industries that were hit really hard by the recession and have a long road to recover."

Some industries such as biotech, aerospace and businesses tied to the automobile sector are beginning to turn around, Vitner added.

"They're growing rapidly but they're relatively small, so they don't pull down the employment rate," he said.

There are many questions about how the recovery will continue in the second half of this year, especially with European markets in turmoil and many federal stimulus programs ending.

But North Carolina may be situated better than many states, Vitner said.

"We are likely to get off to a slower start than the rest of the country, but we will probably quickly close the gap in 2011 and 2012. Our demographics are much more positive. We continue to see people move to North Carolina. We continue to see businesses move to North Carolina."