Asheville area unemployment continues to drop

Posted on by David Forbes

Driven by job gains in the hospitality and leisure, unemployment in the Asheville metro area declined again in April, from 9.4 percent to 8.4 percent, according to numbers from the state Employment Security Commission. The drop was part of statewide job growth, with 99 out of 100 counties in North Carolina showing decreasing unemployment.

The metro area includes Buncombe, Haywood, Madison and Henderson counties. Unemployment also declined in Buncombe, dropping from 9 percent to 8.2 percent.

The lion’s share of the job growth came from the addition of about 1,000 jobs in the hospitality and leisure field, with some gains in government and business jobs as well, according to the statistics. Another factor that contributed to the decline in unemployment was the lack of job losses in the construction and manufacturing fields, which have shown major job losses throughout the economic downturn.

The numbers are not adjusted to account for seasonal employment.

— David Forbes, senior reporter

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2 thoughts on “Asheville area unemployment continues to drop”

  1. greg

    how much of your job loss in construction and manufacturing is due to our huge illegal population.

  2. Piffy!

    yeah, greg, i’m sure its all due to mexicans. Hell, i bet we can blame them for the weather, too.

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