N.C. jobless rate hits 6% – highest since December 2003

Raleigh, N.C. — North Carolina’s unemployment rate hit 6 percent in June – the highest since December of 2003 – as the state’s economy continued to lose jobs.

“The slowing national economy is taking its toll on North Carolina,” said Harry Payne Jr., chairman of the N.C. Employment Security Commission.

The number of people working in the state fell by 4,571 in June.

North Carolina’s jobless rate has increased for six consecutive months, climbing from 4.7 percent in December as the nationwide economic slowdown has spread across multiple sections of the economy. The jobless rate in June 2007 was also 4.7 percentt.

The state lost 3,900 construction jobs in June alone as the mortgage and financial crisis affected home building and the availability of financing for commercial projects.

Just this week, builders of the proposed 46-story Soleil Tower put the project on hold when they ran into financing difficulties.

North Carolina did add 6,400 jobs in the government sector in June. The state also added 5,600 non-farm industry jobs.