Vital signs.

• Position: Statistical data

Vital signs Latest Previous Previous Change month month year from last year EMPLOYMENT Employed (000s) 4,369.6 4,389.5 4,310.1 1.4% Civilian labor force 4,674.1 4,688.7 4,692.3 (0.4) Manufacturing 443.8 443.1 442.8 0.2 Service 3,509.5 3,496.5 3,429.5 2.3 Government 705.2 700.9 710.1 (0.7) Unemployed 304.5 299.2 382.2 (20.3) Avg. manufacturing 42.7 43.8 41.0 4.1 workweek (hours) Avg. hourly $16.79 $16.68 $16.68 0.7 production wage UNEMPLOYMENT RATE [up arrow] Higher than previous month Below 6.0% 10.0%-11.9% [down arrow] Lower 6.0%-7.9% 12.0%-13.9% = Same 8.0%-9.9% 14.0% and above Source: Division of Employment Security, July Change Latest Previous Previous from month month year last year TAXABLE RETAIL SALES (1) millions Alamance $164,611.9 $164,497.9 $146,067.2 12.7% Buncombe 368,103.6 337,881.9 325,407.8 13.1 Cabarrus 229,208.2 236,167.9 213,368.9 7.4 Catawba 170,484.3 158,908.9 153,655.2 11.0 Cumberland 312,825.9 307,605.8 299,949.5 4.3 Durham 526,608.5 493,101.5 472,715.6 11.4 Forsyth 398,865.2 376,442.4 353,494.7 12.8 Gaston 150,661.2 144,892.5 133,787.3 12.6 Guilford 547,313.5 511,666.8 528,897.4 3.5 Iredell 170,807.3 159,041.9 152,992.1 11.6 Mecklenburg 1,608,530.6 1,497,851.8 1,376,396.9 16.9 New Hanover 338,606.7 316,912.8 309,364.8 9.5 Onslow 167,616.5 157,786.4 165,893.4 1.0 Pitt 164,837.3 157,016.5 155,778.0 5.8 Wake 1,162,659.6 1,091,747.2 1,017,158.8 14.3 30%

Percentage of North Carolinians who believe it's a good time to find a job in their local area, according to a Gallup Inc. poll in August. That's 10 percentage points less than the national average.

N.C. STATE UNIVERSITY INDEX OF ECONOMIC INDICATORS

The index, a comparison of the state economy from month to month created by N.C. State economist Michael Walden, is calculated from the Economic Cycle Research Institute's Weekly Leading Index, North Carolina initial claims for unemployment benefits, North Carolina building permits, and average weekly work hours and earnings for Tar Heel manufacturing workers. Raw data which is seasonally adjusted, comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and U.S. Census Bureau.

Latest Previous month month AIR PASSENGER HOARDINGS (2) Asheville 39,725 37,152 Charlotte * 2,000,633 1,952,525 Fayetteville 21,208 21,230 Greensboro 72,051 73,750 Greenville 5,290 5,496 Jacksonville 15,655 15,035 New...