Thursday, January 15, 2015

Charlotte is neither Charlottesville nor the No. 3 spot for job seekers

Charlotte just can’t catch a break this week.

First no more Chiquita, then no more Chipotle pork. Now we’ve learned we’re not actually one of the top spots for job seekers in the U.S.

A report from consumer financial site NerdWallet earlier this week originally said North Carolina’s biggest town was No. 3 based on measures of affordability, workforce growth and job availability.

That third category, which leaned on metro unemployment figures, is where the original numbers looked a little sketchy. The Observer asked the site’s analysts to reexamine the figures and we learned that not only had October – not November – figures been used, but NerdWallet also confused Charlotte’s jobless rate with that of Charlottesville, Virginia.

Charlotte’s October unemployment rate was 5.6 percent, not 4.1 percent. This effectively ripped the bronze metal from Charlotte and throws the city to a disappointing No. 26. Columbus, Ohio now occupies the No. 3 spot.

The silver lining: Charlotte’s November unemployment rate, the most recent available from the Labor Department, was 5.4 percent, a notch below the national average of 5.6 percent. And NerdWallet confirmed that the growth rate of Charlotte’s workforce – at 12.7 percent – is one of the fastest in the country. 
at

4 comments:

  1. LarryJanuary 15, 2015 at 7:39 PM

    But it still is a great place to look for a job, if that is all you expect from your search, just looking and looking and looking.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownJanuary 15, 2015 at 9:29 PM

    Figures that a rag named "NERDWALLET" wouldn't have the cognitive capacity to pull off a simple research article using statistics. What a bunch of fools.

    ReplyDelete
  3. KarlJanuary 15, 2015 at 9:44 PM

    Willy Loman -- But isn't it funny that the Observer jumped all over this? To prove that we really are a 'world class', 'up and coming city' full of energy and vibrancy.

    Meanwhile, our dirty underbelly shows an excessive tax rate, poor infrastructure and a politically correct County Commisioners and Board of Education, that chooses to spend more of your hard earned money on special interests, instead of providing basic services that ALL people of Mecklenburg County can access if they need it.

    That way folks gets to save more of their money for what they need it for! Not to subsidize someone else's entertainment dollar, or to help increase downtown visitation, or to encourage developers to build upon a light-rail line or trolley.

    ReplyDelete
  4. KarlJanuary 15, 2015 at 9:47 PM

    I just wish they'd publish follow-up articles and the status of where we're at as it relates to the IRS, Benghazi, Fast and Furious, Executive Orders, etc, etc

    But instead we have our local Pravda touting everything's wonderful! Look how great our Progressive Society has become!

    ReplyDelete