Photos: Occupy Asheville Saturday, Oct. 15

Still dedicated and determined after two weeks, more than 100 Occupy Asheville demonstrators sat huddled in Pritchard Park for a “General Assembly” before picketing in front of the Vance Monument at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 15. Once at the Vance Monument, protestors held their signs high and chanted in unison about social injustice, advocating for change while others sat down and mediated around their fellow sign-holding demonstrators.

Loss of public employment sends Asheville jobs numbers plunging

Jobs numbers worsened across the state in July, according to data from the state’s Employment Security Commission, and the Asheville area was no exception, losing a total of 2,900 jobs, mostly from the public sector. While unemployment in the area declined slightly, combined with the net job losses, this indicates some unemployed have stopped looking for work.

Asheville area unemployme­nt down slightly in May, but rising in Buncombe

Unemployment in the Asheville metropolitan area declined slightly in May, dropping from 7.8 to 7.7 percent, according to figures from the state Employment Security Commission. Job losses in construction in manufacturing were somewhat offset by gains in the business and hospitality sectors. However, Buncombe County saw a slight rise in unemployment, from 7.4 to 7.5 percent.

Unemployme­nt in WNC: Share the pain

In recent history, employers have used layoffs to cut expenses during economic downtimes. This creates a drastic hardship on the employees who lose their jobs. A better approach is to cut the workweek and spread the pain across all employees. A four-day workweek for everyone is better than laying off the newest employees. — Paul […]