Jan. 31--HICKORY -- Unemployment rates in all four Greater Hickory Metro -- Catawba, Caldwell, Alexander and Burke -- counties rose above 10 percent in December.

Catawba County's unemployment rate reached 10.7 percent in December, the highest it has been in more than 25 years. The December jobless rate for the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton metropolitan statistical area was 10.9 percent, up from 10.2 percent in November.

Connie Vinson said she has been out of work before, but has never seen conditions like this.

"I go to interviews and they are considering 50 people for one opening," said the 45-year-old Hickory woman.

"It's frustrating."

Vinson, who quit her last job to help care for her ailing father, has been searching for work since he died in November 2007.

A high school graduate with more then 20 years of office- and customer-service experience, she said the competition for jobs is fierce.

"Most places want you to have a college degree now, no matter your experience," Vinson said. "If I had known 25 years ago what was coming, I'd have gone to college."

An official with the N.C. Employment Security Commission said Friday jobless rates might climb higher, but should begin to show improvement between now and summer.

"I think we'll see some improvement as manufacturers return to a more normal (post-holidays) routine, plus we've got several companies that are set to begin hiring," said Allan W. Mackie, Employment Security Commission manager in Catawba County.

"Still, there are a lot of unknowns. This recession is a different type of event, nationally, as well as statewide and locally."

According to the Employment Security Commission, the Hickory metro lost 4,900 jobs in 2008, or 3 percent of the region's 159,700 jobs. About 3,700 of those lost jobs were in manufacturing.

From November to December, the region lost 1,800 jobs, a loss of about 1.1 percent. About 500 of those jobs were in manufacturing.

Since December, Hickory metro employers have announced more than 1,300 layoffs. Among companies cutting their work forces were Furniture Brands International, CommScope, Getrag Corp., Shurtape Technologies, Shadowline and GoldToeMoretz.

Many area workers who lost jobs in those layoffs will not be included in state unemployment reports until at least February.

Reasons for hope

Mackie said there are reasons for hope.

He said 80 percent of new unemployment claims filed in Catawba County in December were attached claims, meaning those workers were still "attached" to employers, perhaps to return to work after the holidays.