SALISBURY — Rowan County’s unemployment rate dipped slightly in April to 6.1 percent, but there were also fewer residents in the workforce.
According to the state’s preliminary unemployment data for April, Rowan ranked 38th out of 100 counties with 67,947 residents in the labor force, 4,165 residents unemployed and an unemployment rate of 6.1 percent.
In March, Rowan had 68,615 residents in the work force, 4,594 people without a job and a 6.7 percent unemployment rate for a rank of 36th in the state.
Rowan’s unemployment rate in April dropped 2.2 percentage points from 8.3 percent one year ago.
The rate decreased in 99 of North Carolina’s counties in April and increased in one. All 14 of the state’s metro areas experienced rate decreases.
Scotland County had the highest unemployment rate at 11.6 percent while Orange County had the lowest at 4 percent. Among the Metro areas, Rocky Mount at 9.1 percent experienced the highest rate and Asheville at 4.5 percent had the lowest.
The April statewide rate, which has not been seasonally adjusted, was 6 percent.
When compared to the same month last year, unemployment rates decreased in all 100 counties. All 14 metro areas experienced rate decreases over the year.
The number of workers employed statewide increased in April by 25,952 to 4,380,705, while those unemployed decreased 27,552 to 280,798. Since April 2013, the number of workers employed statewide increased 66,722, while those unemployed decreased 91,220.
Employment estimates are subject to large seasonal patterns.