Jobless rate rises slightly in Wayne
By Laura Collins
Published in News on August 30, 2009 12:26 AM
Wayne County saw another slight increase in the unemployment rate for July.
The rate increased from 9.4 percent to 9.8 percent in the area.
"It's significant, but it isn't that significant," said Ron Zeimmer, veterans employment consultant at the Unemployment Security Commission. "We've had some people that have been laid off and also some students that are out of work. One of the things that has hurt us is we had major layoffs with the auto companies, but it looks like it's turning around."
Zeimmer said there are more service industry jobs, including IHOP, which is currently hiring at the Holiday Inn Express, and Butterball, which is looking for live hangers on the poultry line.
"Also, the health field is always looking for CNAs and nurses. We're starting to see some pickups in construction," he said.
Zeimmer said the .4 increase is about 125 additional people who have been laid off.
"Over the past year, that's not a great increase compared to what it's been, but it is significant," Zeimmer said. "Some of our military folks who are retiring or leaving the service add to that number. We need to keep working the jobs and having our employers list positions with us."
The commission also started a new program, Re-Em-ployment Services, that meets at 9:30 a.m. every Friday for two hours at the Wayne County Public Library in Goldsboro. The program covers filling out applications, interviews, resumes and how to dress for an interview.
"It's basically geared toward people who are on unemployment to help them get back into employment and to tweak their skills," he said.
In the area, Duplin County's unemployment rate stayed the same at 9.2, Greene also stayed the same at 11.5. Johnston increased from 10.4 to 10.5, Sampson increased from 8.4 to 8.5 and Wilson decreased from 13.8 to 13.7 percent.
The state unemployment rate saw a slight decrease overall from 11.2 percent in June to 11.1 percent in July.