North Carolina has become the second state in the Southeast with a 10% or higher unemployment rate.
The unemployment rate in North Carolina jumped to 10.7% in February from 9.7% in January, the Labor Department reported last Friday. Joblessness in the state has surged, increasing 5.5 percentage points from 5.2% in February 2008 — the largest annual increase among all states.
Of the seven states with double-digit unemployment, only North Carolina has a triple-A rating from Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s.
South Carolina, where the unemployment rate increased to 11% in February from 10.3% in January, has a Aaa rating from Moody’s and a AA-plus from Standard & Poor’s.
North Carolina is struggling with a $3.3 billion deficit, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington.
The state is expected to receive $6.1 billion in stimulus aid over two years with the potential to create 105,000 jobs, according to an estimate from the Obama administration. Last week, the state awarded $36.3 million of federal stimulus funds to contractors for highway and bridge construction.
Gov. Beverly Perdue said half of the $838 million the North Carolina Department of Transportation received in stimulus funds would be allocated to contractors for 70 projects by the end of June.
