Orange board veteran to focus on the jobless

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CORRECTION

An article Tuesday on Page 7A misstated where the new chairman of the N.C. Employment Security Commission received his law degree. Moses Carey Jr. received a law degree from N.C. Central University.

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A former Orange County commissioner will head the state's Employment Security Commission.

Moses Carey Jr. has been a professor, manager and healthcare leader in addition to serving six terms on the Orange County board. Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue announced her choice for chairman of the commission as she announced other members of her economic development team.

"Moses' role in the department will be critical as we rebuild the future for many North Carolinians," Perdue said.

The national recession has punished the job market in North Carolina. In December, the N.C. Employment Security Commission, which administers unemployment benefits, reported that the state's unemployment rate is now the highest since 1983.

"This is a critical time in the history of North Carolina," Carey said Monday.

Carey has most recently been the program director of the health disparities program at N.C. Central University's department of health education. In 1984, Carey was elected to the Orange County Board of Commissioners. He unsuccessfully ran last year for a seat in the state Senate.