Local unemployment numbers from April are mildly encouraging.

In the four counties that make up this region – Bertie, Gates, Hertford and Northampton – more people are working than in March.

The unemployment rates as released for April show:

* Bertie County – 10.2 percent, down from 10.8;

* Gates County – 7.1 percent, down from 7.5;

* Hertford County – 8.6 percent, down from 9.3; and

* Northampton County – 10.1 percent, down from 11.4.

Those numbers sound good to anyone, but the fact is they are important. It’s easy to get lost in the “figures” of unemployment and not think about what they really mean.

In each of the four counties in the coverage area of the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald, more people are at work. That means fewer families who are trying to figure out how to make ends meet. It means food on more tables.

It also means more people are able to shop at local stores, thereby investing even more into the local economy. Hopefully, this will mean local employers need more workers and even more people go to work.

That’s good because while more people are back at work, there are still a lot of people who want jobs and can’t find them. That means we need to see this cycle continue and more people get back to work.

The cycle that started in April has the potential to be an important one. The hard-working people of our region deserve to be gainfully employed and we hope the news from April is the beginning of that happening for many.