Employment muddle
The jobs picture is murky from Guilford County to the Greater United States. The U.S. economy created only half -- 56,000 -- of the jobs predicted in the past month, the Labor Department said today.
Blame hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which held back hiring due to rising fuel prices.
Meanwhile, Guilford County's jobs for September were up 3.3 percent over September last year, at 230,733. But the unemployment rate has barely budged from around 5.5 percent in two years. And initial claims for unemployment are up more than 7 percent. That's twice the growth rate of the employment base.
Still, retail sales are strong locally and it looks like a good Thanksgiving ahead.
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