CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The unemployment rate in the Charlotte area has hit its highest level in 20 years.
New statistics released Friday show that 12.8 percent of people in the Charlotte area are out of work. That's up from 12.1 percent in December.
Almost 110,000 people are unemployed here.
In the Hickory area, unemployment is even higher at 15.8 percent -- up a full percentage point from December.
UNC Charlotte economist John Connaughton says the increased rates weren't unexpected.
"All the folks that had part-time jobs, temporary jobs during the Christmas season, now all find themselves in the first week of January without a job. And so they automatically take that number and run it up quite a bit in January," said Connaughton.
Connaughton predicts unemployment will be around 11 percent by the end of the year.
