Vital signs.

Previous Change Latest month Previous from last EMPLOYMENT month (000s) year year Employed (000s) 4,455.3 4,429.3 4,336.7 2.7% Civilian labor force 4,708.8 4,676.9 4,634.6 1.6 Manufacturing 459.3 458.3 446.3 2.9 Service 3,565.9 3,567.1 3,477.2 2.6 Government 710.6 711.7 714.2 (0.5) Unemployed 253.5 247.6 298.0 (14.9) Avg. manufacturing workweek (hours) 43.0 41.9 43.9 (2.1)% Avg. hourly production wage $16.79 $16.85 $16.74 0.3 Latest Previous Previous Change from month month year last year TAXABLE RETAIL SALES (1) ($000s) Alamance 150,737.4 141,793.8 138,571.3 8.8% Buncombe 291,679.8 301,371.1 263,883.9 10.5 Cabarrus 220,621.1 208,795.9 198,250.4 11.3 Catawba 149,394.0 143,381.7 136,952.0 9.1 Cumberland 299,889.3 273,296.9 287,343.5 4.4 Durham 441,425.9 452,650.9 411,543.3 7.3 Forsyth 328,635.8 343,255.2 319,419.0 2.9 Gaston 141,699.6 131,942.6 127,600.1 11.0 Guilford 475,474.7 469,634.0 438,778.5 8.4 Iredell 156,511.0 147,129.3 134,452.2 16.4 Mecklenburg 1,404,464.2 1,355,899.6 1,235,098.8 13.7 New Hanover 263,096.2 260,152.2 239,549.0 9.8 Onslow 142,525.1 133,012.4 142,352.9 0.1 Pitt 154,868.5 155,130.8 147,453.1 5.0 Wake 965,901.7 1,014,168.9 898,188.6 7.5 41%

North Carolina has the least-expensive auto insurance in the U.S., with drivers paying 41% less than the national average, according to InsuranceQuotes.com. Cumberland County has the state's highest rates. New Hanover has the cheapest. Not surprisingly, insurers are asking state lawmakers to change how rates are set.

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.

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