NC unemployment rate falls to 5.5 percent in December

By MARTHA WAGGONER
Associated Press

RALEIGH, NC (AP) — North Carolina’s unemployment rate dropped for the fourth straight month, falling to 5.5 percent in December.

The revised rate for November was 5.9 percent, up slightly from the 5.8 percent originally reported. The rate has been falling since September.

The December rate in North Carolina also was slightly lower than the national rate of 5.6 percent. That’s the first time the rate has been lower than the national one since last April.

The number of people employed increased almost 1,300 from November to December to more than 4.3 million and increased more than 25,000 over the year. The number of people unemployed decreased almost 16,000 over the month to more than 255,000. It declined more than 67,000 over the year.

The rate was 6.9 percent in December 2013.

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