By Laura Keeter, The Wilson Daily Times, N.C.
Aug. 1--The unemployment rate rose in June in Wilson County, continuing a climb that has been steady since the first of the year.
The rate was 8.4 percent in June, up from 8 percent in May.
In 2007, the rate never hit 8 percent and peaked at 7.6 percent in June.
"It's going up higher than it was last year, and that's because of the economy," said Terri Williams, manager of the Wilson office of the state Employment Security Commission/JobLink office.
At the downtown office on Tarboro Street earlier this week, about 25 people stood in line, waited in the waiting area for assistance or searched for jobs on the computer.
Michael McGee was one of them. McGee, 45, has been looking for a job for a month. He said he's been filling out a lot of applications but with no luck. McGee has worked in various jobs from brick mason to landscaper to heavy equipment operator.
"They say there's jobs, then it costs you so much gas money to go there, and then they say there's no jobs there," McGee said.
Others in the office agreed.
One woman said she'd been unemployed since March 5 but recently found out her unemployment benefits had been extended because of a new bill signed by President Bush.
"I was a nervous wreck," she said. "I had visions of living in my car -- that's how bad it was."
On June 12, Congress passed the Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act, H.R. 5749, and it was signed into law.
As of July 6, unemployed people whose benefits have expired can get up to 13 additional weeks of unemployment benefits if they qualify. People who may qualify will receive a letter from Raleigh, and then need to apply. About 260,000 people in the state may be eligible, according to a press release from the ESC.
People with claims that ended since May 5, 2007, may qualify for the extension, said Jerry Driver, claim supervisor.
Hundreds of Wilson County residents have applied online for the extension of benefits since July 7, he said. Last Monday, the Wilson office started keying in claims as well. About 100 claims had been keyed in so far, Dixon said.
Randy Felton was in the office to fax 22 pages of information to a company. Felton said he found the job on his own and that most the other leads out there had led to dead-ends.
"I hope I'm hired," he said. "I've been looking for something steady for over a year."
Felton is originally from Wilson but was gone for 10 years working construction and in restaurants at the coast.
"I've been all across the state in the past three months looking for a job, and I've never seen it so bad. And this particular county is the worst," he said.
In the last year, Felton said he's probably filled out 100 applications and not heard one word back.