Local Jobs Report: Decreasing Unemployment Yet Labor Force Participation Also in Decline | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the John Locke Foundation. The author of this post is Paige Terryberry.

    The monthly local jobs report reveals unemployment rates and related economic indicators at the county level. The local jobs report for February released Wednesday shows unemployment rates decreased in 74 counties, increased in five, and remained unchanged from January in 21. These employment estimates are not seasonally adjusted and are subject to large, seasonal patterns.

    According to the release, "When compared to the same month last year, not seasonally adjusted unemployment rates decreased in 74 counties, increased in 13, and remained unchanged in 13."


    But let's compare today's unemployment data to pre-pandemic figures of three years ago. The data shows lower unemployment rates today. More counties have rates at or below 5.0% unemployment.


    Unemployment data alone, however, doesn't show the whole picture.

    All but five of the state's fifteen metro areas have seen their labor force shrink from pre-pandemic levels. The state has 24 micropolitan areas, including Elizabeth City and Boone for example. Only eight have a larger labor force today than in February 2020. Statewide, the labor force has increased in number slightly, but the labor force participation rate is still below what it was just before Covid lockdowns. Using statewide data from February, if the labor force participation rate were at pre-pandemic levels, our state would have 68,464 more people in the labor force.

    This means that as people stop looking for work they drop out of the labor force, and they are no longer counted in the unemployment rate, making the economic data look better than it is.

    As I wrote previously, this trend is not unique to North Carolina. But it is important as a strong labor force is crucial to any economic recovery. And people's attachment to the job market is important for more than a paycheck. Jobs also bring stability and well-being. As the nation experiences recession warning signs, labor force participation will be important to watch.
Go Back

HbAD0

Latest State and Federal

President Joe Biden took direct aim at Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas during a recent interview, referring to him simply as “the guy who likes to spend a lot of time on yachts.”
Former President Donald Trump suggested this week that if he becomes president again, he might allow Prince Harry to be deported.
Vice President Kamala Harris will visit a Minnesota Planned Parenthood clinic, reportedly the first time a president or vice president has visited an abortion facility.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said this week that the only campaign promise President Joe Biden has delivered on as president is the complete dismantling of the U.S. southern border.
Hamas is reeling after losing two of their most cherished leaders on the same day: military commander Saleh al-Arouri, and Harvard President Claudine Gay.
President Joe Biden’s brother told the Internal Revenue Service that Hunter Biden told him he was in business with a “protege of President Xi,” referring to the leader of China, according to notes by an IRS investigator that were divulged during a congressional interview of Jim Biden.
That’s the question Marguerite Roza of Georgetown University’s Edunomics Lab sought to answer in a recent webinar on the topic.
The University of Florida has fired all of its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) employees and shut down its DEI office.
Glenn Beck: 'When the United States government can come after individuals, that's when you know our republic is crumbling.'

HbAD1

Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) reportedly blasted Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for “stonewalling” details about the illegal immigrant accused of murdering Laken Riley, a 22-year-old Georgia college student.
“The Biden administration's plan in the Middle East is to hand over power to the Palestinian Authority, which literally pays the families of terrorists who murder Jews.”
Two Democratic members of North Carolina’s congressional delegation are ranked among the most likely to be picked off in 2024, according to a new analysis from Roll Call.
Former President Donald Trump dominated the North Dakota Republican Caucus on Monday as he continues to inch closer to officially securing the party’s presidential nomination.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is launching a Community Partner Engagement Plan to ensure the voices of North Carolina communities and families continue to be at the center of the department’s work.
The Pentagon official helped lead an organization that pushed 'transgender day of visibility' in the military
Former President Donald Trump filed an appeal to overturn a Democrat judge’s decision to remove him from the presidential ballot in Illinois.

HbAD2

 
Back to Top