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28 <br />Total taxable retail sales in the County for the past four fiscal years are shown in the following <br />table: <br />Fiscal <br />Year Ended Total Taxable Increase (Decrease) <br />Ju e 0 Retail Sales Over Previous Ye <br />2006 $907,564,371 _ °~ <br />2007 948, 302,963 4.5 <br />2008 971,591,672 2.5 <br />2009 926, 654, 246 (4.6) <br />Source: North Carolina Department of Revenue, Sales and Use Tax Division <br />Note: Information for yeazs ended prior to June 30, 205, are not comparable due to a change in the <br />State's method of reporting local sales information. <br />Employment <br />The County enjoys a consistently low unemployment rate. The unemployment rate estimated <br />by the North Carolina Employment Security Commission for August 2009 was 6.8%, one of the low- <br />est in the State. (State average was 10.8% in August 2009.) <br />The North Carolina Employment Security Commission has estimated the percentage of unem- <br />ployment in the County to be as follows: <br /> 2006 2007 2008 2009 2006 2007 2008 2009 <br />January 3.2% 3.2% 3.4% 5.8% July 3.9% 3.7% 4.8% 7.1% <br />February 3.6 3.4 3.6 6.5 August 3.6 3.3 4.3 6.8 <br />March 3.1 3.0 3.3 6.1 September 3.0 3.0 4.0 6.3 <br />April 3.0 3.0 3.2 5.8 October 3.0 3.1 4.0 N/A <br />May 3.3 3.1 4.0 6.7 November 3.2 3.2 4.4 N/A <br />June 3.8 3.8 4.5 7.0 December 2.9 3.1 4.7 <br />Government and Major Services <br />GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE <br />The County has acommission-manager form of government with aseven-member Board of <br />Commissioners comprising the governing body. The commissioners are elected on a partisan basis <br />for staggered four-year terms. The County manager is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the <br />Board of Commissioners. The Board of Commissioners annually adopts a balanced budget and estab- <br />lishes atax rate for the support of the County's programs. The County Manager has the responsibili- <br />ty of administering these programs in accordance with the policies and the annual budget adopted <br />by the Board of Commissioners. <br />EDUCATION <br />Two separate school administrative units, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools ("CHCCS") and <br />Orange County Schools ("OCS"), provide public education in the County. CHCCS serves the Towns <br />of Chapel Hill and Carrboro and a small area outside the Towns, and OCS serves the remainder of <br />the County. Non-partisan elected boards of education administer both units. <br />9 <br />