The figures show that an additional 154 people are looking for work over last month, while 93 jobs were added.
"I had hoped it would go down some, but it is what it is," said Burnest Graham, director of the local Job Link office. "We still have people who are being laid off, some not because of displacement... but because of reductions of workforce"
He also attributed some of the decline to seasonal changes, as more people joined the workforce. However, the Job Link director didn't see the job outlook as being all bad.
"[The economy] is picking up steam," Graham said. "Perhaps it will show up in the next [rate]."
He pointed out two reasons for hope in the Scotland County job market. First, QualPak decided not to pulling out, protecting a number of jobs. Second, N
Graham also said that there has been an increase in the availability of "nearby jobs that are not in Scotland County but serve Scotland County residents.
Scotland remains the top county in the state for unemployment, with more than a point separating it from the next highest county, Rutherford, which has an unemployment rate of 16.1. Behind Rutherford is Edgecome, with a rate of 15.3, and McDowell, Cleveland and Caldwell counties, which share a rate of 15.1 percent. Orange County had the state's lowest unemployment rate in April, at 5.8 percent.
Neighboring Richmond County also saw its rate increase by 0.2 percent to 14.7.
Robeson's rate remained at 11.6 percent while Moore County's rate dropped by 0.6 to 9.6 percent and Hoke County's dropped by 0.4 to an even 8 percent.
Scotland was one of just 14 counties in North Carolina to see its unemployment rate increase as 83 saw a decline. The state's rate also decreased by half a percent to 10.5.
"For the second consecutive month, a large number of North Carolina counties have had a decrease in their unemployment rate," said Moses Carey Jr., ESC chairman. "However, virtually every county in the state continues to work through this difficult and challenging national recession. This agency is here to serve those in need of work search opportunities, for those needing to file unemployment benefits, and to assist businesses find the workers they need."
There were an estimated 492,785 unemployed workers statewide in April. The national unemployment rate is 8.9 percent.
The unemployment rate in South Carolina has continued to rise in April, according to figures released by the South Carolina ESC. The state rate is now at 11.5, a tenth of a point above its March rate.
Marlboro County's rate jumped 1.1 points to 21.5 percent, making it third in South Carolina for unemployment.
The unemployment rate is a percentage calculated by adding the number of people who are employed to the number of people who are unemployed but looking for work, then dividing that number by the later. These figures are derived by studies performed by state employment security commission offices.
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