1000 x 90

October Unemployment Rates Drop in High Country

North Carolina

By Jesse Wood

Dec. 9, 2013. Recently released unemployment rates for counties in North Carolina in October show that Watauga, Avery and Ashe counties all had month-over-month drops between .1 to .2 percent.

  • Watauga: 6.3 percent unemployment rate, drop of 1.2 percent over the year
  • Avery: 7.8 percent unemployment rate, drop of 1.9 percent over the year
  • Ashe: 8.7 percent unemployment rate, drop of 3.3 percent over the year

In late November, the N.C. Department of Commerce stated that the state’s October unemployment rate was 8 percent, a .3 percent decrease from September.

In the state, three counties have unemployment rates at or below 5 percent; 85 counties have unemployment rates between five and ten percent; and 12 counties are at 10 percent or higher.

Below is a release from the Labor & Economic Division, N.C. Department of Commerce:

Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) decreased in 56 of North Carolina’s counties in October, increased in 30 and remained the same in 14. Six of the State’s metro areas experienced rate decreases, while two increased and six remained the same.

Scotland County had the highest unemployment rate at 14.4 percent while Chatham County had the lowest at 4.7 percent. Among the Metro areas, Rocky Mount at 10.9 percent experienced the highest rate and Asheville at 5.6 percent had the lowest. The October not seasonally adjusted statewide rate was 7.5 percent.

When compared to the same month last year, not seasonally adjusted unemployment rates decreased in all 100 counties. All 14 metro areas experienced rate decreases over the year.

The number of workers employed statewide (not seasonally adjusted) decreased in October by 2,829 to 4,328,649, while those unemployed decreased 2,162 to 351,633. Since October 2012, the number of workers employed statewide decreased 13,663, while those unemployed decreased 83,309.

Please note that employment estimates for September 2013 were not released as scheduled due to the federal government shutdown. Unemployment rates in September (not seasonally adjusted) decreased in 97 of North Carolina’s counties and increased in three. All fourteen of the State’s metro areas experienced rate decreases. The September not seasonally adjusted statewide rate was 7.6 percent.

The next unemployment update is scheduled for Friday, December 20, 2013 when the statewide unemployment rate for November 2013 will be released.

Nov. Unemployment