The latest look at North Carolina's unemployment rate will point to whether this fall is a season of hope for the state's jobless.
The state Commerce Department announces North Carolina's unemployment rate for August on Friday. The unemployment rate increased slightly in July to 9.6 percent, tying North Carolina with South Carolina for the fifth-highest unemployment rate in the country. The national average was 8.3 percent in August.
Last month showed that private employers added 16,000 jobs, an improvement that was offset by the loss of almost 14,000 jobs as state and local governments cut workers.
More than 400,000 people in North Carolina want to work but don't have jobs.
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