After weeks of inconsistency from her employer, Natalie Robinson found herself out of work.
She was a hotel employee in Kinston five months, looking for jobs since February — and it hasn’t been easy.
Robinson is one of the local residents who are still unemployed — the most recent rate in Lenoir County is 9.2 percent.
“Being that I don’t have a car or a computer, it’s been kind of hard,” she said. “I’ve got to rely on my nephew or my neighbors. It’s been kind of hard, but I really need a job.”
Robinson said she may pursue a job at a similar establishment, while leisure and hospitality services added the largest number of jobs in North Carolina since last year.
This time in 2012, the state’s unemployment rate was 9.4, according to North Carolina Department of Commerce’s April’s figure; the most recent state report was 8.9 percent, a decrease from March’s 9.2 percent rate.
While the North Carolina numbers were 0.3 lower than last month, the national rate is notably lower at 7.5 percent. The state has the fifth highest unemployment rate behind California, Mississippi, Illinois and Nevada, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Larry Parker, a spokesperson for the Division of Employment Security, said the unemployment rate for 68 North Carolina counties is below 10 percent.
“When we look at the state as a whole,” he said, “I think it’s a relatively good sign that more than half the counties are under 10 percent now.”
He said the Lenoir County workforce has been steady and more than 100 people shifted out of the unemployment bracket in a year.
“Not by a lot has the data changed for (Lenoir County),” Parker said, noting this time last year the rate was 9.5. “We haven’t seen much of a trend one way or the other. The numbers have really fluctuated over the year and (the Lenoir County) labor force has remained flat.
“It’s good news that the number of employed has gone up, but again it’s only a slight movement.”
Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 or at jessika.morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.
April 2013 Unemployment Rates:
Lenoir County, 9.2 percent
Greene County, 9.8 percent
Jones County, 8.9 percent
Source: North Carolina Division of Employment Security