| 118th Year, 49th Issue | Thursday, July 19, 2007 | Sparta, North Carolina |
Western North Carolina economic activity, as measured by the Western North Carolina Economic Index, recovered some of its first quarter losses in May.
The index, which tracks the level of economic activity in 25 western North Carolina counties, increased .5 percent for the month. This follows a .6 percent increase in April, and marks the first consecutive months of positive growth since December 2006.
Seasonally adjusted employment for WNC showed little movement in May- increasing .06 percent. Statewide employment was decreased .1 percent for the month. Regional employment has decreased .99 percent since the beginning of the year.
Mapping the growth in employment over the preceding month provides a county-level account of job creation. Eight of the 25 WNC counties experienced job losses in May. The losses were concentrated in two areas of the region: the central foothill counties of Burke, Caldwell and Catawba; and the southwestern counties of Jackson, Macon and Transylvania. The largest gains in employment were in Alleghany (1.71 percent) and Graham counties (1.39 percent).
The seasonally adjusted rate of unemployment for the region fell 0.1
percentage points to 5 in May 2007. The North Carolina rate remained
flat at 4.8 percent. The national unemployment rate was 4.5 percent,
unchanged from the previous month.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate within the region's rural
counties remained unchanged at 5.4 percent in May. For the region's
metro areas, the unemployment rate increased .1 point to 3.7 percent
in Asheville and decreased .3 point to 6 in Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir.
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