NC economist: Unemployment to hit 13 percent

RALEIGH — An economist at North Carolina State University says the state’s jobless rate will peak early next year.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reported that economist Mike Walden’s forecast Monday predicts the state’s jobless rate will hit 13 percent in the first quarter of 2010.

The state’s jobless rate was 11.1 percent in May, a record since the current measuring system was implemented more than 30 years ago.

Walden expects the rate will drop for the rest of 2010, matching a national rate of 10.3 percent by the end of the year.

The forecast predicts the highest jobless rates in Charlotte and the Greensboro-High Point-Winston-Salem area. The lowest rate is expected in the Raleigh-Durham area.

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