| 116th Year, 46th Issue | Thursday, June 23, 2005 | Sparta, North Carolina |
Regional economic activity, as measured by the Western North Carolina Economic Index, increased .3 percent in April.
The index, which tracks the level of economic activity in 25 western North Carolina counties, has increased at an annual rate of 3.2 percent in the first quarter of 2005. The national economy increased at an annual rate of 3.1 percent during the first quarter of 2005.
Seasonally adjusted employment for the region and state increased in March. WNC employment increased by 0.3 percent while state employment increased by .4 percent. The labor market appears to be improving for WNC, according to the report. The region has experienced job growth in six of the last seven months.
Mapping the growth in employment over the preceding month provides a county-level account of job creation. Twenty-two of the 25 counties in WNC experienced job growth in March. Mitchell, Swain and Watauga were the only counties having job losses in March. The largest job gains were observed in the northwestern counties and the counties surrounding Asheville.
The seasonally adjusted rate of unemployment for the WNC region decreased .2 percentage points in March to 5.4 percent. The adjusted state and national employment rates fell .2 points to 5.2 percent. Regional unemployment is down .4 points from a year ago, while the state and national unemployment rate is down .5 points.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate within the region’s rural
counties decreased .2 percentage points to 5.6 percent in March. For
the region’s metro areas, seasonally adjusted unemployment rates
decreased .2 percentage points to 4 percent for Asheville and decreased
0.4 percentage points to 6.4 percent for Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir.
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