Dare County continues to struggle with re-building and with high job loss since Hurricane Irene hit two months ago.
The latest unemployment numbers from across the state show a majority of counties experienced a drop in their jobless rates. But not Dare County. In August – the unemployment rate in Dare County was 7-point-5-percent – much lower than the national and the state rate. But in September - the jobless rate was nearly two points higher. Kenny Kee manages the Employment Security Commission office in Nags Head. He says people couldn’t get to work after the storm.
Kenny Kee: "It washed a highway out – NC Highway 12. So there was no way to get to Hattaras Island."
And Kee says it’ll be a while before things are back to normal.
Kenny Kee: "The retail stores that sell the t-shirts and things like that. Some of the restaurants that stay open, they’ve already closed and they’re not going to re-open this year – not until Easter of next year."