The agency says it's doing what it can to help those suddenly out of work.
“The ESC is paying record amounts of benefits to transitional workers and will distribute over $200 million in benefits from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.” said ESC Chairman Moses Carey Jr.
Orange County had the state’s lowest unemployment rate, at 5.8 percent, in January. Meanwhile, Dare County had the highest unemployment rate, at 17.3 percent.
The Triangle area in general fared better that some other areas of the state. Durham County came in at 7.3 percent, Wake at 7.4, and Cumberland at 8.9. Compare that to Northeastern counties like Halifax which came in at 14 percent and Warren that's suffering 13.4.
Click here for all the January numbers from the ESC (.pdf)
According to the ESC, unemployment rates in the metropolitan statistical areas for January were:
Asheville — 8.7 percent, up from 6.7 percent in December.
Burlington — 10.9 percent, up from 9.4 percent.
Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord NC-SC — 10.5 percent, up from 8.9 percent.
Durham-Chapel Hill — 7.3 percent, up from 6.1 percent.
Fayetteville — 8.8 percent, up from 7.8 percent.
Goldsboro — 9.2 percent, up from 7.9 percent.
Greensboro-High Point — 10.5 percent, up from 8.6 percent.
Greenville — 9.7 percent, up from 8.3 percent.
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton — 13.6 percent, up from 10.9 percent.
Jacksonville — 8.4 percent, up from 6.8 percent.
Raleigh-Cary — 7.9 percent, up from 6.5 percent.
Rocky Mount — 13.2 percent, up from 11.7 percent.
Wilmington — 9.9 percent up from 8.4 percent.
Winston-Salem — 9.3 percent, up from 7.6 percent.
