Polk ranked 32nd lowest unemployment in state
Published 8:00 am Saturday, July 7, 2018
County sees 3.5 percent unemployment rate in May
POLK COUNTY — Polk County’s unemployment rate was just 3.5 percent in May, but it was ranked at only the 32nd lowest in the state.
Polk has been known to often have one of the top 10 lowest unemployment rates in the state.
The North Carolina Department of Commerce released its county unemployment rates last week for May.
Buncombe County had the lowest unemployment rate in May at 2.8 percent, while Scotland County had the highest unemployment rate in the state at 7.5 percent.
Polk was slightly lower than the statewide rate, which was 3.7 percent in May, according to non-seasonally adjusted figures from the department of commerce.
Polk County’s May unemployment rate remained the same as its unemployment rate in April, which was also 3.5 percent. A year ago, Polk County’s May unemployment rate was 4 percent, according to the department of commerce.
Polk County’s labor force in May was 9,108 employed, with 317 unemployed, according to the state’s figures.
Nearby Henderson County ranked the fourth lowest in the state in May, with an unemployment rate of 3.1 percent. Henderson County has a labor force of 54,038, with 1,679 unemployed in May.
Nearby Rutherford County ranked 87th out of 100 counties in the state. Rutherford County’s May unemployment rate was 4.9 percent, with 24,304 people employed and 1,200 unemployed.
Polk County was one of 87 counties in the state in May with unemployment rates below 5 percent and one of 86 counties in the state in April with unemployment rates below 5 percent.
There were 13 counties in the state with unemployment rates between 5 and 10 percent in May.
In May, there were 4.84 million people employed in North Carolina, which was an increase of 37,232 employees since April. There were 184,582 people unemployed in North Carolina in May, which was a decrease of 1,008 since April, according to the department of commerce.
Unemployment has significantly decreased statewide over the last year, with an increase of 108,389 people employed and a decrease of 28,554 unemployed since May 2017, according to department of commerce figures.
Unemployment figures for June will be released later this month.