Mecklenburg County sees highest unemployment rate in over a decade amid COVID-19
Mecklenburg County’s unemployment rate surged to 12.8% in April, higher than the peak of the recession a decade ago, as the novel coronavirus ravages the local economy.
Nearly 74,000 people are unemployed in the county, according to figures released by the North Carolina Department of Commerce Wednesday. The state’s unemployment office has been deluged with unemployment claims, and applicants report delays in receiving payment and long hold times when calling.
The county’s unemployment rate of 12.8% is an increase of nearly 9 percentage points from March, when the coronavirus first began taking a toll on companies in the region.
During the Great Recession, the job losses were more gradual, said Chuck McShane, senior vice president of business analytics and data at the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance.
“There’s really nothing to compare to the speed with which this happened,” he said.
The state recorded an unemployment rate of 12.5%. Every county in the state saw an increase in its unemployment rate, showing the widespread impacts of the shutdowns enacted to stop the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
In March, 71 of the state’s 100 counties had unemployment rates at or below 5%, and just one had an unemployment rate above 10%. Now, 77 counties have unemployment rates over 10%, and none have a rate below 5%.
The data reflects what was happening at the height of the shutdown.
“I’m hopeful that this is the biggest drop we’ll see in one month,” McShane said. “I do think we’ll continue to see job loss. But I do not think it will be as fast.”
This story was originally published June 3, 2020 at 11:26 AM.
