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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 /> June 90 Retail Sales Over Previous Year <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 years 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 /> 2M 2493 AM Zoos 849.& 2M 2008 ?:448 <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 NIA <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 a commission-manager form of government with a seven-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 a tax 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 />