Asheville unemployment rate spikes to over 10 percent

From December through January, the Asheville area lost 3,800 jobs, and the unemployment rate rose to 10.1 percent, the highest rise in North Carolina during that time, according to statistics from the state’s Employment Security Commission.

The sharpest losses came in the construction and hospitality sectors, though the government and professional services sectors also shed significant numbers of jobs. A total of 20,517 people are unemployed, according to the statistics. Buncombe County’s unemployment rate rose from 8.3 to 9.6 percent, with 11,313 unemployed.

The Asheville Metropolitan Area measured by the numbers includes Buncombe, Henderson, Madison and Haywood counties. It has shed 6,100 jobs between January this year and last.

While the Asheville area had the highest rise in the state, its unemployment rate still remains below most of the other 14 metropolitan areas, ranking 9th. Nearby metro areas with higher unemployment include Winston-Salem (11 percent) and Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, which has the highest in the state at 15.8 percent.

— David Forbes, staff writer

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33 thoughts on “Asheville unemployment rate spikes to over 10 percent

  1. UNaffiliated Voter

    How’s all that hope and change workin out for ya?

    Can we TAKE 3 more years of this? What happens when there are NO JOBs?

  2. bbbeans

    UNaffiliated Voter- If you have a second to pause between stuffing your head with talking points from Sarah “Governing is too hard so I quit” Palin and the rest of her goons at Faux News look at this

    http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/30/11533/0704

    8 years of dead-end Republican policies under Bush put us in this position, not 1 year of Obama.

  3. Charles West

    I’m relatively new to Asheville, so please bear with me.
    The “Asheville area” in paragraph one presumably refers to the “Asheville Metropolitan Area” described in paragraph three, but, does “From December to January” mean the month of December up to January, or the two-month period inclusive? There are actually zero days from one month to the other.
    Also, in paragraph three, if the area “shed 6,100 jobs between January this year and last” (presumably January last year), am I correct in interpreting this as 3,800 of those 6,100 jobs lost during the one-year period were lost during the month(s) of December and/or January?

  4. Asheville Dweller

    Theres jobs in Asheville, it on pace to open a new bar every week for here on out. Forget jobs with benefits we have bars and coffee shops.

    We need some jobs pronto, good paying jobs with insurance that stick around for more then a couple of years.

  5. dpewen

    Nice post bbbeans … and yes, I can take another 3 years of Obama … hopefully 7 more years!

  6. JWTJr

    UV and bBeans are both wrong. It took a lot longer than 1 or 8 years to get us where we are today. We did this to ourselves and it took decades of hard bumbling.

    Economic cycles ebb and flow. We’re in that ‘ebb’ part.

    In this case, the old adage follows …. when you are pointing the finger at someone else, you have 4 fingers pointing back at yourself.

  7. bbbeans

    JWTJr- You are correct that 8 years of Bush is not 100% responsible for the situation we are currently in. I suppose I did not mean to be taken so literally.

    However, I strongly disagree that our current situation is a result of economic “ebb and flow”.

    The Bush administration choose to wage 2 separate wars, with a total cost in the trillions of dollars, while at the same time cutting taxes for the wealthiest Americans. Policies such as these definitely contributed heavily in producing the current “ebb” we are experiencing.

  8. travelah

    Times are hard in ‘Tardville but hope and change is coming , yes, any day now, you just wait and see … yes … just like he says .. hope .. change … < 'nother beer, mister>

  9. Alex Lekas

    bbbeans,

    Really? You call out someone as a Fox News viewer and your “source” is DailyKos? Why not something really objective, like Robert Gibbs?

  10. demirogue

    And just think, a council member is openly for allowing illegals to come here. Some of those illegals will compete for jobs and more than likely, send that money home. You all elect these loons folks and now pay for it.

  11. dpewen

    It is going to take a long time to recover from the 8 years of the Bush administration woes.
    I am excited about the next 3 years … then we will give Mr. Obama 4 more!

  12. JWTJr- You are right that 8 years of Bush isn’t solely responsible for our current economic status. I suppose I didn’t mean to be taken so literally.

    That being said, starting 2 wars under Bush with a total cost in the trillions of dollars while simultaneously giving tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans certainly contributed to the current ebb we find ourselves in.

    Travelah- You make a clear and obviously well thought-out point. Kudos.

  13. Budda

    Thanks Bush. It will take YEARS to overcome the distruction he caused by ignorance and padding his buddies pockets.

  14. who

    Is there any comprehensive initiative from the city or the county to lure some industry to the area? Maybe giving some property deals or tax breaks to a few big companies to set shop in our area and provide good jobs? Sacrificing some potential tax base to woo industry would bring more tax revenue by having more people that have actual spending money and the means to make a decent living. Look what Volvo did for Greenville. Or do the city and county governments really just covet a non-development, NIMBY stance? Is the “Don’t Move Here” sentiment hurting this area’s potential growth? Would our city council overlook a manufacturer moving here because it is not hip-green? People in economic struggle don’t have the time or energy to be high-minded and environmentally concious.

  15. Piffy!

    [b]UV and bBeans are both wrong. It took a lot longer than 1 or 8 years to get us where we are today. We did this to ourselves and it took decades of hard bumbling.

    Economic cycles ebb and flow. We’re in that ‘ebb’ part.

    In this case, the old adage follows …. when you are pointing the finger at someone else, you have 4 fingers pointing back at yourself. [/b]

    Yep. I can’t believe we agree. Feelin okay?

  16. Piffy!

    [b]Travelah- You make a clear and obviously well thought-out point. Kudos. [/b]

    Yes. He advances the conversation so much, doesnt he?

  17. “Really? You call out someone as a Fox News viewer and your “source” is DailyKos?”

    Alex Lekas- Yes, I really just did that. Fox News is a sorry excuse for journalism and I’m sorry if you feel otherwise.

    Don’t like Daily Kos? How about this site

    http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/

    They won a Pulitzer Prize in 2010 and are tracking Obama’s record, and so far it looks pretty stellar.

    Obama is working his butt off to make things happen in a political era where we have a bunch of rich white people in government and in the media (see previously referenced “news” channel) telling a bunch of poor white people with little power that he is literally the Antichrist.

  18. tired of lefty loons

    @bbbeans

    “…Don’t like Daily Kos? How about this site…”

    The St Pete Times is a demonstrably lefty news-rag. That is no secret. Can you come up with a truly non-biased source?

    Obama’s record may appear stellar to you but to an equal or greater number of Americans it appears weak and full of hot air.

  19. dpewen

    Fox news also shows Neckcar races … kinda tells you the type of audience they are attracting …

  20. If you think the people who give out Pulitzer Prizes are “lefty loons” I don’t have much else to say to you other than this quote by the great Stephen Colbert:

    “Reality has a well-known liberal bias”.

  21. Watching Democrats and Republicans argue about who is to blame for the economy is funny. Both sides are pretty much equally to blame for decades of deregulation, privitization and general unwillingness to act as anything other than willing lapdogs for venture capitalists and other assorted criminals.

    If I were asked in a poll if I liked Obama, I would say “no.” They would never dare ask why and, even if they did, that answer would likely not be reported. (I was actually stunned to see that one poll a couple of weeks ago actually bothered to find out if people thought the health care legislation was “too much,” “just right,” or “not enough.” Then again, it isn’t porridge, is it?)

    At any rate, you can thank all of your “leaders” since at least as far back as 1980 for this wonderful place we are in now. And this time, instead of throwing the full force of government and millions of dollars into public works and the arts, we have allowed it to trickle upwards to the self-same bankers who hedged their bets with your 401Ks, who told people “go ahead, start a business. We will loan you the money to make payroll” and who are still collecting multi-million dollar paydays while the rest of the country sits around and idly points fingers at the “two” political parties and dutifully repeats talking points and pats themselves on the backs.

    So, go ahead and keep throwing out the KOS vs FOX arguments. The bankers are laughing at you.

  22. Piffy!

    [b]So, go ahead and keep throwing out the KOS vs FOX arguments. [/b]

    Oh, they will. You know they will.

  23. Piffy!

    [b]Fox news also shows Neckcar races … kinda tells you the type of audience they are attracting … [/b]

    Yeah, that’s not a bigoted stereotype or anything.

    I like NASCAR, should i start voting Republican?

  24. JWTJr

    “Yep. I can’t believe we agree. Feelin okay?”

    “I like NASCAR”

    I have to ask you the same thing.

    We’re blowing away the polarization paradigm. Maybe there’s more than 2 sides to everything?

  25. Piffy!

    [b]We’re blowing away the polarization paradigm. Maybe there’s more than 2 sides to everything?[/b]

    Look, here’s how it works; I’m an Obamabot Socialist Nazi and you’re a racist. Stick to the script.

  26. R.Bernier opinions

    Learn to live with high numbers, you have Bothwell & Smith on City Council. Next will be higger property taxes along with increase of crimes.

    It’s ok, you still have the drums – maybe this explains why no one uses soap.

    RB

  27. dpewen

    I voted for Cecil and Gordon and I love what they are doing and will be doing. I also play in the drum circle, live downtown, and take showers.
    Explain why you think crime will go up. Also, do you live in Asheville?

  28. The unemployment rate here is probably more like 18% ,when you count the people who are forced to work low-paying part time jobs that hardly cover their bills. And people who have given up looking, and moved in with their parents or friends.
    This is because, starting with Reagan, and continuing on through Clinton & Bush, all our good jobs are being shipped overseas. A country that does not make things, and is waging 2 idiotic wars, will just keep going downhill. As long as the major international corporations, wall street “investment” companies, and the greedy super rich class run this country, This democracy will continue to become a Corporate dictatorship. Its NOT about liberals VS conservatives. As hard as it may seem, tea party people and progressives need to find some common ground, and fire the 90% of congress thats owned by big business.

  29. R.Bernier opinions

    Hey – green jobs is the answer for you folks in Asheville…Get up with Cecil & Gordan to see how fast you will be able to acquire a job & pay your rent.

    The City of Asheville did not want plants in the area so if all fails go hug a tree.

  30. Piffy!

    Great points, KimennaQ, but i take exception with this phrase:

    [b]As hard as it may seem, tea party people and progressives need to find some common ground, and fire the 90% of congress thats owned by big business. [/b]

    We don’t need to “fire” anyone until we can figure out who we’re going to “hire”.

    It’s too easy to just say: ‘fire them’. Until we have politicians who can win who are running at the state and federal level who are NOT ‘owned by big business’, speaking of getting rid of who we currently have is vapid. We need constructive solutions, not negative ones.

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