New data: Asheville area still has lowest percentage of job seekers in NC; also low pay
The Asheville metro area continues to have the lowest unemployment in North Carolina, according to just-released data on the number of people seeking jobs.
But the region comprising Buncombe, Henderson, Haywood and Madison counties also continues to see lower wages than the statewide and national averages, figures show.
The Asheville area's 2.8% unemployment rate for October, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, reflects the number of people seeking jobs and is the lowest of any other metro area in the state. Fayetteville and Rocky Mount each had the highest rate at 4.5%. The statewide rate was 3.4% and the national rate 3.9%
Having the lowest rate has been normal for the Asheville. That was turned upside down during the pandemic when the area actually had the state's highest in the state at 15.6% in May 2020. But as social distancing restrictions were lifted it returned to the lowest, driven by the return to the opening of the hospitality industry.
That means October's rate was essentially, "not the news," Nathan Ramsey, workforce development director of the Mountain Area Workforce Development Board, a federally created public-private economic development group, said Dec. 1, a day after the the unemployment numbers' release.
"I think the news is we are so much ahead of where we were pre-pandemic in terms of the labor force," Ramsey said the same day he made a presentation on the economy to a Council of Independent Business owners meeting at UNC Asheville.
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The number of potential workers before the pandemic in February 2020 was 232,137, Ramsey told attendees. It is now 242,916 with 236,083 of those individuals employed.
But wages also remained behind the state and national average, with a $27.83 average for Asheville, $31.41 for N.C. and $33.82 nationally. That is because of factors such as the lack of major multi-national employers and the prevalence of hospitality industry jobs, Ramsey said. Asheville's hotels, restaurants and bars, pay at some of the highest rates in the states. But hospitality as a sector still has some of the lowest compensation compared to manufacturing, health care and other types of employment.
Asheville unemployment, labor force
Asheville metro area (Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Madison counties) unemployment: 2.8%
North Carolina unemployment: 3.3%
Year to year, 3,571 more people working compared to October 2022.
6,833 unemployed individuals in the region as of October 2023.
The biggest misconception, Ramsey said, is that there are fewer people seeking work, with restaurants posting "help wanted" signs and businesses short-staffed.
"They feel like nobody's working and are sitting around at the house, and that's just not true," the workforce development director said.
He noted that the large federal unemployment benefits that people received during the pandemic have stopped and that North Carolina now has a maximum benefit of $350 per week, a small sum. So, access to benefits is not keeping people home
Rather, the reason for trouble finding workers is business growth, Ramsey told business owners and other attendees of the Dec. 1 meeting.
"Companies and businesses are doing a great job of creating job opportunities," he said.
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Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at jburgess@citizentimes.com, 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville still has lowest rate of job seekers in NC; also low pay
