Surry Business

Surry County’s unemployment rate in September rose to 5.8 percent, 0.2 percent higher than in the preceding month and the highest level since February 2006.

Slightly more than 2,000 were jobless and seeking work in September, up 57 from August, the N.C. Employment Security Commission reported today.

The estimated size of the local labor force and the number of people employed both dropped a fraction of a percent to 34,852 and 32,939, respectively.

Surry County’s unemployment rate is up a full 1 percent from September 2006 when about 1,634 were jobless. Four apparel companies in Mount Airy have discontinued manufacturing operations in the past 12 months, eliminating more than 1,000 jobs.