Gov. Bev Perdue was in Charlotte this afternoon to announce a state partnership with Microsoft to offer free technology training.

The governor appeared on the campus of Central Piedmont Community College to announce that North Carolina will receive 10,500 vouchers for Microsoft Windows and Office online training, 10,500 vouchers for Microsoft Business Certification Exams and 2,700 vouchers for advanced technical professional-level online training, Rob Christensen reports.

Each voucher is redeemable for free online training in Microsoft Windows or one of the programs in the Microsoft Suite.

The vouchers will be distributed through the state community college system, the Division of Workforce Development in the N.C. Department of Commerce, and the N.C. Employment Security Commission.

The partnership is called "Microsoft Elevate America."

Gov. Beverly Perdue said this morning she saw "a glimmer of hope" with the economy, with the stock market showing some signs of life and with signs that North Carolina may be reaching the bottom with unemployment.

Perdue said that the new figures to be released this morning show unemployment in March had only risen one-tenth of one percent, Rob Christensen reports.

But the governor said there was still heavy pain all across the state from people of all walks of life who have lost their job.

"The question I hear over and over is the next pay check going to be a pink slip?" Perdue told about 50 people at a meeting of the Alliance of North Carolina Black Elected Officials at the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel.

More after the jump.

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Where has North Carolina lost jobs last year?

According to seasonally adjusted figures from the N.C. Employment Security Commission, the state lost 120,200 jobs between December of 2007 and 2008.

The biggest job losses by sector:

Manufacturing: 39,800, or 7.4 percent
Professional & Business Services: 39,800, or 7.8 percent
Trade, Transportation and Utilities: 30,000, or 3.8 percent
Construction: 17,900, or 7 percent

Dr. Betty McGrath, the labor market information director, said that manufacturing continued to bleed jobs, as it has in past year. But the recent recession also hurt construction and temp jobs that had been doing well.

The only sector that went up over the past year was Educational and Health Services, which saw an increase of 18,000 jobs.