(RALEIGH) -- N.C. State University economist Dr. Mike Walden says the nation's economy is showing gradual improvement. But it's not coming quickly enough.

"We still have 6.5 million people out of work who weren't out of work before the recession began. In North Carolina it's over 200,000," Dr. Walden said. "And then of course people are understandably upset about some individual prices that have been changing very rapidly."

Nationwide, unemployment is up to 9.1 percent, after just 54,000 new jobs were created last month.