May 23--LENOIR -- The unemployment situation in Caldwell County worsened Friday as 150 people lost their jobs at the Thomasville Furniture Industries plant here.

Parent company Furniture Brands International also said approximately 100 positions were being cut at Drexel Heritage plants in Morganton and Mount Airy and at Lane plants in Mississippi. Furniture Brands would not break down those layoffs by individual company or plant.

Employment officials in Caldwell County viewed the Thomasville layoffs as more bad news. The county's jobless rate was 15.3 percent in March.

"Certainly we're sorry about the layoffs and will be working closely with those folks to get them some help," said Sue Land, manager of the North Carolina Employment Security Commission's Lenoir office.

Citing massive layoffs in the region's manufacturing sector and an already tight job market, Land said Friday's layoffs will likely be "life-changing events" for many of those affected.

The Greater Hickory Metro lost about 7,000 manufacturing jobs from March 2008 to March 2009, according to the Employment Security Commission.

Since the beginning of the national recession in December 2007, North Carolina has lost 76,000 manufacturing jobs, the Employment Security Commission said.

The Greater Hickory Metro's unemployment rate in March was 15.4 percent, down from 15.6 percent in February. It was the highest jobless rate among the state's 14 metropolitan statistical areas.

Catawba County's unemployment rate reached 15.6 percent in March, up from 15 percent in February.

The county's March rate was the highest it had been since February 1975.

Other area jobless rates for March were 14.6 percent in Alexander County, down from 15.7 percent in February; and 15.6 percent in Burke County, down from 15.9 percent in February.

Caldwell County's March rate of 15.3 percent was down from 16.4 percent in February.

April unemployment rates for N.C. counties and metropolitan statistical areas will be released on Friday, May 29.

Furniture Brands International, parent company of Broyhill, Lane, Thomasville, Drexel Heritage, Henredon, Pearson, Hickory Chair, Laneventure and Maitland-Smith, eliminated 1,400 positions -- or about 15 percent of its domestic work force -- late last year.

The staff reductions were blamed on a soft retail market.

Furniture Brands employs approximately 8,000 people worldwide.

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