Information that was recently released by the North Carolina Employment Security Commission shows that the employment rate has increased during the month of September in several different areas. While there was an increase in the number of employed people from the previous month of August, the number of unemployed people in the area is still at an all time high compared to the statistic of unemployed individuals from the last few years.

In areas of New Hanover and Brunswick, the unemployment rate increased by about 0.3 percent which means that the number of unemployed people in the area is 10.5 percent. While this may not seem too bad, the unemployment rate was only at about 8.9 percent during the month of September in 2010.

The unemployment rate seems to be decreasing little by little but is still higher than it was in the same months during 2010. Certain factors also need to be taken into consideration when figuring out whether or not the unemployment rate is increasing or decreasing in the area. Some job positions are seasonal which means that the position is not permanent and may only last a few months. Once the season is over, the individuals will be left unemployed again. Because of this, it is important to base unemployment rates on a yearly basis instead of a monthly basis.

In the New Hanover area, the unemployment rate was at 10.2 percent for the month of August. The unemployment rate has since decreased to 9.5 which is a good decrease within just one month but the unemployment rate is still higher in September 2011 than it was in September of 2010.

In the Brunswick area, the unemployment rate has decreased by 0.2 percent from August to September. The current unemployment rate is 10.6 percent and while it has decreased in just one month, it is still higher than it was at this time last year. Last year, the percentage of unemployed individuals was only 9.8 percent.

The Pender are currently suffers from the largest unemployment rate in the area. In the month of August, the rate of unemployed individuals was 12.4 percent. The percentage has since gone down to 11.9 in the month of September. While there was a drastic decrease in unemployed individuals, the unemployment rate in Pender in September of 2010 was only 9.3 percent

With the downward spiral of the economy, unemployment rates are still considerably high. Jobs in the construction and mining field seem to have taken the largest hit when it came to unemployment. Many of these workers were laid off and are now unemployed. Government job positions have also decreased dramatically which could be another reason for the higher unemployment rates.