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Unemployment rate in Mountain Area region was 4.0% as of August 2025. As of August 2025, there are 4,477 less people working compared to August 2024.

Unemployed Individuals by month (Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Madison and Transylvania Counties):

August 2025 10,046

July 2025 9,622

June 2025 10,610

May 2025 10,346

April 2025 10,464

March 2025 11,700

February 2025 13,453

January 2025 14,720

December 2024 12,883

November 2024 15,497

October 2024 16,884

September 2024 6,641

August 2024 9,003

July 2024 8,300

June 2024 8,579

May 2024 7,542

April 2024 6,865

March 2024 7,808

February 2024 7,924

Note there are some statistical disparities between the data reported for the Asheville metro and the Mountain Area Workforce region as the metro includes Haywood County but does not include Transylvania County. The Mountain Area Workforce region includes Transylvania County but not Haywood County.

Total Labor Force 223,839

Total Employed Labor Force 214,916

Change in Unemployment Relative to 2018

Mountain Area Labor Force

Mountain Area Employment

Mountain Area Unemployment Rate

Mountain Area Unemployed Individuals

Asheville MSA Industry Jobs Compared to One Year Ago

Asheville MSA Jobs

Mountain Area Job Openings

Mountain Area WDB Taxable Retail Sales

Asheville metro unemployment rate 4.0%, AVL metro holds 4th highest unemployment rate of any NC metro, tied with Hickory and Wilmington.

Among the metro areas, Asheville had the 4th highest unemployment rate, tied with Hickory and Wilmington. Rocky Mount had the highest rate at 5.5% (as of August 2025) while Raleigh had the lowest at 3.5%. Edgecombe and Halifax Counties each had the highest unemployment rate at 6.1%. Currituck County has the lowest unemployment at 3.0%.

Buncombe 4.2%

Haywood 3.8%

Henderson 3.4%

Madison 4.2%

Transylvania 3.7%

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