State Government
News Briefs
Jobless
rate jumps to 6.6%, highest in 18 years
North
Carolina's unemployment rate jumped to 6.6 percent in March
from a revised 6.3 percent in February, according to state
Employment Security Commission figures. That compares with a
national jobless rate of 5.7 percent. The last time the
state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was at or above
6.6 percent was in October 1984, when the rate was 6.7
percent. Industries reporting the largest job losses were
furniture and fixtures; apparel; wholesale goods; food stores;
and finance, insurance and real estate.
There are bright spots in the ESC numbers. Total
seasonally-adjusted nonagricultural employment increased by
5,700 jobs from February to March, and both the manufacturing
(+2,400 jobs) and service industries (+5,700) showed an
overall increase in employment over the month. This is the
first month-to-month increase in manufacturing employment
since September 2000.
Average hourly earnings in manufacturing jobs increased from
$13.48 to $13.57. Average weekly hours for production workers
also increased to 40.0 hours compared to 39.6 the previous
month. However, several months of positive change are
necessary before suggesting that an economic change has
occurred.
The state paid approximately $102.5 million in unemployment
benefits in March, bringing the total amount paid over the
past 12 months to nearly $1.1 billion.
ESC
survey finds plenty of jobs available
Despite
the state’s high unemployment rate, there are nearly 6,782
jobs going begging at companies all across the state,
according to a survey by the N.C. Employment Security
Commission. More than 40 percent of those job openings are in
professional, technical and managerial positions, the survey
said. The ESC also asked the 2,700 largest employers in North
Carolina to give an idea of possible job openings in their
business which would be created as demand for products and
services increased over the next 60 to 90 days. The companies
said they anticipated creating 4,731 new jobs in that period.
Officials said that the total of more than 11,500 currently
available or soon-to-be-created jobs indicates a strong
economic recovery ahead.
Federal
aid bolsters unemployment insurance trust fund
The
state Employment Security Commission will not tap an emergency
reserve fund to pay jobless claims until a $240 million
infusion of federal money has been spent. The move means that,
for now at least, employers will not be hit with a 20 percent
unemployment insurance tax surcharge. But employers still face
a doubling of unemployment insurance premiums next year if the
trust fund is below $800 million on Aug. 1. With the federal
funds, the state's unemployment trust fund stood at $527.3
million in mid-April.
Education
groups urge state to throw in the towel in Leandro case
Fifteen
education advocacy groups are urging state leaders to drop
appeals in the long-running Leandro case and instead promptly
comply with a Superior Court judge's order to ensure that
at-risk children receive a quality education. State officials
said they’re deciding whether to appeal Judge Howard
Manning’s order that the state must take immediate steps to
improve educational opportunities for students at risk of
academic failure. It’s assumed that the only way the state
can do that is through increased spending on k-12 schools.
State
moves up in national education rankings
North
Carolina has moved up to 21st in the nation in average teacher
salary, at $41,151 a year, according to an annual report
issued by the National Education Association. The report said
teach pay in North Carolina is $2,184. Teachers in New Jersey
earn the nation’s highest salaries, at $53,281. North
Carolina teacher pay ranking has increased steadily because of
the additional $1.4 billion expenditures mandated by the
Excellent Schools Act. Other statistics about North Carolina
in the NEA report:
 North Carolina
ranks 46th in the nation in the percentage of male classroom
teachers, at 19.3 percent. Michigan topped the list with 37.4
percent of its workforce being male. The U.S. average 25.8
percent.
North Carolina ranks in 39th in average per pupil spending, at
$6,169 per year. The national average is $7,161. If North
Carolina funded its schools at the national average, it would
cost an additional $1.1 billion.
In terms of the sources of revenue for public schools, North
Carolina continues to be a national leader in the percentage
of funding that comes from the state. Since 1991, the
state has increased its share of education funding from 65.1
percent to 70.6 percent.
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