Buncombe County’s unemployment rate in January rose to 6.8% — among the highest in the state as Western North Carolina continues its slow recovery from Hurricane Helene.
The county’s unemployment rate has improved since the immediate disaster aftermath but remains twice as high as last year, according to figures released Friday by the N.C. Department of Commerce.
A total of 9,813 people were jobless in Buncombe County in January. Unemployment in the broader Asheville metro area — which includes Buncombe, Henderson, Haywood and Madison counties — also increased in January, to 6% from 5.3% a month earlier.
Statewide, the rate (not seasonally adjusted) was 4% unemployment in January. North Carolina Commerce statistics are reported publicly each month, with the latest figures generally about 60 days old.
Before Hurricane Helene devastated much of Western North Carolina in late September, Buncombe had among the state’s lowest unemployment rates. Since the historic storm, it has continued to rank among the highest. In January, only three other counties — Hyde, Mitchell and Dare — had a higher jobless rate.
Tourism plays a major role in the Asheville area’s economy, and the latest state Department of Commerce statistics show the leisure and hospitality industries continue to struggle months after the storm. In January, there were 1,800 fewer leisure and hospitality jobs in the Asheville metro area compared to a year earlier. The number of jobs in education and health services, meanwhile, increased by 1,400 year-on-year.
Buncombe was not alone in seeing a rise in its unemployment rate in January: The jobless rate rose in 99 of North Carolina’s 100 counties that month, according to the state Department of Commerce.
County-by-county figures for February are expected to be released on April 9.
