Press Release from NC Department of Commerce:
Here is what we know so far about the employment impact of Hurricane Helene:
Job growth is -3.9% monthly (September – October) for Asheville metro. County unemployment data will be released on November 27.
As of yesterday 26,756, statewide disaster-related unemployment claims. We don’t have current unemployment claims data by county.
If trends continue, we believe around 50% of the statewide disaster-related UI claims are from Buncombe County and 70% are from the 4-county (Buncombe, Henderson, Madison and Transylvania) region.
The Big Picture
The preliminary numbers for October 2024 offer a first glimpse at the employment impact of Hurricane Helene. North Carolina lost a net of 5,500 jobs in October. This decline was entirely accounted for by the Asheville MSA alone, which shed 8,200 jobs (4% of the regional total). The storm had little apparent impact on our statewide unemployment rate, although we might see more localized impacts when county-level unemployment data are released next Wednesday.
For the full report click here.
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