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RALEIGH (AP) - North Carolina's budget shortfall has widened amid worsening economic conditions and growing job losses, and a state report released Friday shows that numbers are trending toward the gloomiest side of past projections.

Numbers released by General Assembly researchers show that revenues in the first five months of the fiscal year were $520 million below what lawmakers had projected when they wrote the state budget.

That's 6.1 percent lower than the $7.2 billion forecast, an indication that conditions worsened from the month before, when the gap was only 5 percent.

Barry Boardman, the report's author, has told lawmakers the budget shortfall could range between $800 million to $1.6 billion for the spending period that ends in June.

Gov. Mike Easley has asked state departments to detail how they could reduce spending by 3 percent, 5 percent and 7 percent.

A separate report released Friday showed that the state's jobless rate jumped to 7.9 percent in November - the highest level since the recession of the early 1980s.

Lost jobs can quickly cut into the state's financial health because more than half of revenue comes from the income tax.

Budget forecasters said that budget pressures are mounting with the likelihood of a prolonged downturn that may only sluggishly recover in 2010.

And they noted that North Carolina's large financial services industry has been hit hard by market turmoil and that the sector is expected to shed more jobs in the next year.

Easley has already held back up to 5 percent of agency budgets and has a plan to hold up to $1.2 billion in money to cover the shortfall.

David Kochman, a spokesman for governor-elect Perdue, praised Easley for working to get ahead of the issue and said the incoming governor will be looking closely at the plans prepared by state departments.

"Gov. Perdue will have many tough decisions to make," Kochman said.

Policymakers won't just face a revenue shortfall next year, they'll also face pressures to spend big on stressed programs.

The State Health Plan, for example, could run out of cash to pay claims early next year and could need an additional $300 million. Medicaid and colleges, meanwhile, usually face greater demand during economic downturns.