Buncombe County’s labor market is continuing to improve after taking a hard hit from Hurricane Helene.
About 5,300 people in Buncombe County were unemployed in September, for a jobless rate of 3.7%. That’s down from 4.2% the previous month, according to the North Carolina Department of Commerce.
It’s the first time since Helene that Buncombe’s unemployment rate is on par with the statewide average. The county soared from the lowest to the highest unemployment rate in the state immediately after Hurricane Helene struck in late September 2024. It’s now roughly in the middle of the pack compared with the other 99 counties in the states.
Other Western North Carolina counties vary from Swain with 3.2% unemployment to Rutherford with 4.5%.
Even though the region’s job market as a whole is looking up, the leisure and hospitality industry continues to struggle. In Buncombe County, there were 2,000 fewer jobs in the industry compared with last September.
Meanwhile, private education and health services jobs are on the rise, with 1,700 more jobs compared with last year.
October’s data will not be released because of the federal government shutdown. November’s county-by-county data will be released in mid-January.
