Charlotte area unemployment numbers show start of COVID-19 job losses

As the coronavirus shut down the economy, the number of unemployed people in Mecklenburg County increased by 11.8% from February to March, according to recently released U.S. Department of Labor data.

More than 24,300 people were unemployed in the county in March, compared to 21,800 in February.

The unemployment rate reached 3.9%, its highest since last July. But that falls far short of the recession a decade ago, when Mecklenburg’s unemployment rate increased to 11.5%.

The metro area, which includes Charlotte, Concord and Gastonia, also measured a 3.9% unemployment rate.

Still, experts say the March figures don’t capture the full picture, as tens of millions have applied for unemployment across the country. In North Carolina, restaurants and bars didn’t start to shut down until March 17, and the statewide stay-at-home order went into effect on March 30.

“I don’t think any industry really is not going to feel the effects of this,” said Chuck McShane, senior vice president of research at the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance. “This will cut deeper than anything in anyone’s lifetime.”

Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo, said the unemployment rate is likely to reach 20% over the next few months.

About 935,000 people in North Carolina have filed for unemployment since March 15, according to state data.

“Normally when somebody loses a job there’s a good chance they can find another one but that’s not the case today, because there’s just not a whole lot of hiring taking place.,” Vitner said.

Hardest-hit areas

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the workforce in other North Carolina counties much harder, data show.

Nearly a third of the state’s 100 counties registered an unemployment rate of 5% or more last month. Hyde County, a coastal county east of Raleigh, had an unemployment rate of 13% – the state’s highest.

Wake County’s unemployment rate measured 3.6% – among the lowest in the state.

Vitner said the job losses are likely to hit North Carolina’s cities more, because that’s where the leisure and hospitality industries are concentrated.

The number of unemployed people in the state overall increased 11.5% – to more than 210,000 – from February to March, data show.

Two states – Colorado and Nevada – saw the number of unemployed people jump more than 60% from February to March.

Compared to those states, which rely heavily on tourism, North Carolina’s economy is more diversified, McShane said. That’s meant that the economic impacts of the coronavirus on the state have been typical of other parts of the country.

This story was originally published April 30, 2020 at 4:48 PM.