RALEIGH (AP) ó Unemployment in North Carolina hit a record high in March, inching up to 10.8 percent as more than 10,000 jobs were cut through white-collar layoffs.
The state Employment Security Commission said Friday the March jobless rate increased from 10.7 percent in February. That makes the March figure the highest on record since the state started its current measuring method in the mid-1970s.
Since this time last year, unemployment has increased by more than 248,000 people. More than 41,000 workers lost their jobs in March.
The country’s jobless rate was 8.5 percent last month.
Layoffs continued to sweep through North Carolina’s manufacturing and construction industries, while 10,000 jobs were cut in professional and businesses services.