Polk County in November retained the third lowest unemployment rate in the state at 4.9 percent.

The county was behind Orange County with 4.3 percent and Chatham County with 4.6 percent. Neighboring Buncombe and Henderson counties had 5.1 percent unemployment.

According to the North Carolina Department of Commerce, Polk County had 9,478 individuals in the work force in November with 460 or 4.9 percent of them seeking work. The county’s rate dropped from 5.2 percent in October.

The NC Department of Commerce makes clear these numbers are not seasonally adjusted, which means factors such as seasonal holiday employment do have an effect on the percentages. Experts suggest the yearly changes provide a more clear picture of how employment is doing locally and at the state level. For Polk County that remains a positive change.

Polk County faired well in 2013 over 2012, with 2013’s November rate dropping 2.3 percentage points from the 7.2 percent unemployment it marked in November 2012.

Polk County’s Department of Social Services (DSS) Director Lou Parton said what the numbers don’t show are the individuals still scraping to get by each week.

“It doesn’t show the underemployed. A lot of our recipients are working but still aren’t making enough to get by,” Parton said.

The following descriptions of employed and unemployed individuals were provided by the NC Department of Commerce:
Employed persons are those who did any work at all for pay or profit in the reference week (the week including the 12th of the month) or worked 15 hours or more without pay in a family business or farm, plus those not working who had a job from which they were temporarily absent, whether or not paid, for such reasons as bad weather, labor-management dispute, illness, or vacation.

Unemployed persons are those who were not employed during the reference week (based on the definition above), had actively looked for a job sometime in the four-week period ending with the reference week, and were currently available for work. Persons on lay-off expecting recall need not be looking for work to be counted as unemployed.

While unemployment numbers continue to decrease, SNAP numbers remain steady, according to Parton.

DSS administered Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP funds (food stamps) to 1,286 families in October. That number increased by 31 families to 1,316 in November. Parton said DSS also received 61 applications in November, compared to 62 in October.

The NC Department of Commerce’s Division of Workforce Solutions comes to DSS on Tuesdays to work with individuals who need to find jobs. In 2013, they served 93 clients in the office, not counting advice provided via telephone calls.

A report by this division in December showed that six new corporations launched in November 2013 compared to 14 in November 2012.