Mountain Area Works Highlights

 
  • Asheville metro 3.3% unemployment rate for October 2022
  • You are invited! Mountain Area Workforce Development Board 2022 Recognition Luncheon - December 13
  • Where are the workers? Survey shines light on reasons keeping people from the workforce
  • The great mismatch: Remote jobs are in demand, but positions are drying up
  • Employers Rethink Need for College Degrees in Tight Labor Market
  • Labor Market Mystery: Where Are The Older Gen Z Workers?
  • Local companies prioritize hands-on giving
  • Pandemic Anxiety Was Higher for Teachers Than for Health-Care Workers
  • RSV, covid and flu are keeping kids out of school - and parents out of work
  • American workers are bummed out
  • Survey finds poor mental health 'a real issue in the American workforce'
  • 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck heading into peak shopping season
  • $650 million Pratt & Whitney plant opens in South Asheville
  • Youth Disconnection Declined in 2021 After Climbing During the Pandemic
  • October 2022 Jobs Report: The Still-Strong Labor Market Shows Some Cracks
  • Where have all the workers gone?
  • Mountain Area Workforce Development Board receives over $1.3 million to support small businesses, re-entry and substance use disorder recovery
  • Economic development: Training the workforce, North Carolina takes a proactive approach to creating an abundant labor market
  • Even with some energy sapped, labor market keeps powering ahead
  • Asheville cost of living still tops in the state, while wages lag
  • BE PRO BE PROUD
  • NC unemployment rate rises for the 3rd straight month to 3.8%
  • State of Our Workforce WNC survey results from 795 employers released
  • NCWorks Career Center Asheville workshops November and December 2022
  • NCWorks: Work on What's Next
  • Mountain Area Careers
Labor Market Update
Unemployment rate in Mountain Area region 3.3% as of October 2022. As of October 2022, 5,164 more people working compared to October 2021. 332 less people working compared to September 2022.

Unemployed Individuals by month:

October 2022 7,343
September 2022 5,953
August 2022 6,938
July 2022 6,562
June 2022 7,591
May 2022 6,792
April 2022 6,198
March 2022 6,347
February 2022 6,603
January 2022 6,669
December 2021 5,584
November 2021 6,038
October 2021 6,547
September 2021 6,917

Total Labor Force 221,677
Total Employed Labor Force 214,334
Mountain Area WDB Overview | LEAD Analytics

October 2022

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analytics.nccommerce.com
Unemployment Rate
Mountain Area WDB Labor Force
Mountain Area WDB Employed Individuals
Mountain Area WDB Job Openings
Mountain Area WDB Industry Jobs Compared to 1 Yr Ago
Taxable Retail Sales
Asheville metro unemployment rate at 3.3%, lowest of any NC metro
Asheville metro now (as of October 2022) the lowest unemployment of any NC metro at 3.3% (tied with Durham-Chapel Hill and Raleigh). This rate is 0.1% points lower than the metro unemployment rate of 3.4% of one year ago.
 
Buncombe 3.2%
Haywood 3.4%
Henderson 3.4%
Madison 3.6%
Transylvania 3.8%

Monthly job growth by metro:
 
  1. Winston-Salem 0.6%
  2. Wilmington 0.4%
  3. Asheville 0.2%
  4. Burlington 0.2%
  5. Charlotte/Concord/Gastonia 0.2%
  6. Jacksonville 0.2%
  7. Rocky Mount 0.2%
  8. Fayetteville 0.1%
  9. Greensboro/High Point 0.1%
  10. Goldsboro 0.0%
  11. Greenville 0.0%
  12. Raleigh 0.0%
  13. Hickory/Lenoir/Morganton -0.1%
  14. New Bern -0.2%
  15. Durham/Chapel Hill -0.4%
You are invited! Mountain Area Workforce Development Board 2022 Recognition Luncheon
You are invited to the Mountain Area Workforce Development Board 2022 Recognition Luncheon on Tuesday, December 13, 2022 from 11:30 am - 1:00 pm at the Virginia Boone Building, WNC Agricultural Center, Fletcher, NC.

A catered lunch will be provided from Red Radish. Join us as we recognize outstanding employers, workforce leaders, workforce development professionals, program participants and more.
Where are the workers? Survey sheds light on reasons keeping people from the workforce
Survey shines light on reasons keeping ppl from workforce

According to recent data from NCWorks, North Carolina's primary source for worker/employment data, there are now more jobs than there are available workers to fill them.

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wlos.com
The great mismatch: Remote jobs are in demand, but positions are drying up
Remote jobs are in demand, but positions are drying up

Lori Black has been firing off dozens of applications with one goal: to land a work-from-home job. But four months in, her search is starting to feel impossible. Positions are in short supply, and rejections have been plentiful.

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www.washingtonpost.com
Employers Rethink the Need for College Degrees in Tight Labor Market
Biz Rethink Need for College Degrees in Tight Labor Mrkt

Google, Delta Air Lines and IBM have reduced requirements for some positions The tight labor market is prompting more employers to eliminate one of the biggest requirements for many higher-paying jobs: the need for a college degree.

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www.wsj.com
Labor Market Mystery: Where Are The Older Gen Z Workers?
Labor Market Mystery: Where Are the Older Gen Z Workers?

The exodus from the labor force in the pandemic's early months has mostly reversed, but one group remains oddly absent: people in their early 20s. Economists search for theories on why fewer people ages 20 to 24 are working or seeking a job

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www.wsj.com
Local companies prioritize hands-on giving
Local companies prioritize hands-on giving

For many years, Whit Zeh believed that working for nonprofits was the only way she and her husband could make a difference in the world. "We thought that we needed to have the same struggles as the nonprofit world," she says.

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mountainx.com
Pandemic Anxiety Was Higher for Teachers Than for Health-Care Workers
Pandemic Anxiety Was Higher for Teachers

The return to class has not meant a return to normal for many teachers. Students need more help to recover both academically and emotionally from pandemic disruptions. Staffing shortages mean more teachers are overworked and overwhelmed.

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www.edweek.org
RSV, covid and flu are keeping kids out of school - and parents out of work
RSV covid & flu are keeping kids out of school & out of work

This fall has been a blur of runny noses, body aches and lost paychecks for Jacob Terry. His 18-month-old daughter came home from day care with respiratory syncytial virus a few weeks ago.

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www.washingtonpost.com
American workers are bummed out
American workers are bummed out

We've heard plenty about the "great resignation," quiet quitting and even some louder quitting. The rate of workers leaving their jobs is near a record high, much higher than any time before the pandemic, going back 20 years and more.

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www.marketplace.org
Survey finds poor mental health 'a real issue in the American workforce'
Survey finds poor mental health 'a real issue in workforce'

Poor mental health among workers can seriously impact productivity and the bottom lines for companies, according to new research.

Read more
wlos.com
60% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck heading into peak shopping season
60% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck

As of October, 60% of Americans were living paycheck to paycheck, according to a recent LendingClub report.

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www.cnbc.com
$650 million Pratt & Whitney plant opens in South Asheville
$650M Pratt & Whitney plant opens in South Asheville

With attendance from Gov. Roy Cooper, numerous company officials and a slew of local politicians and business leaders, the mammoth 1.2 million-square-foot Pratt & Whitney plant held an opening ceremony Nov. 16 in South Asheville.

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avlwatchdog.org
Gov. Roy Cooper, local eaders attend ribbon-cutting for P&W

Pratt & Whitney -- an american aerospace manufacturer -- held a ribbon cutting today for theFacility on brevard road in south asheville.The company is building

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wlos.com
Youth Disconnection Declined in 2021 After Climbing During the Pandemic
Recently Released Data Suggest Youth Disconnection Declined

Author: Jonathan Guarine "Disconnected youth" (or "opportunity youth") are teens and young adults ages 16 to 24 who are neither in school nor working. Youth disconnection has come down from its pandemic highs based on recently released ACS data.

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www.commerce.nc.gov
October 2022 Jobs Report: The Stil-Strong Labor Market Shows Some Cracks
Oct 2022 Jobs Report: Still-Strong Labor Mrkt Shows Cracks

Joblessness is still low and job growth is strong, but today's report shows it may be springing some leaks. Key points: The labor market remains strong as employment grew by 261,000 jobs in October and the unemployment rate rose to a still-low 3.7%.

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www.hiringlab.org
Where have all the workers gone?
Where have all the workers gone?

"Help Wanted" signs still hang on windows & front doors, hiring tables continue to greet grocery store shoppers & websites are cluttered with pop-up ads looking to hire. Local biz, restaurants, franchises & govts throughout ... seeking workers.

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www.transylvaniatimes.com
Mountain Area Workforce Development Board receives over $1.3 million to support small businesses, re-entry and substance use disorder recovery
Gov Cooper Announces $8.45m in Workforce Development Grants

NC Dept of Commerce has awarded 20 special grants to 11 local workforce dev boards, totaling $8.45m, Governor Cooper announced today. Boards will use grants to help jobseekers & small biz w/ training & other srvcs in response to a tight labor mrkt.

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www.commerce.nc.gov
Economic Development: Training the workforce, North Carolina takes a proactive approach to creating an abundant labor market
Econ development:Training workforce takes proactive approach

North Carolina’s regional Workforce Development Boards play an integral role in helping businesses find workers.

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businessnc.com
Even with some energy sapped, labor market keeps powering ahead
Even With Some Energy Sapped Labor Mrkt Keeps Powering Ahead

After the shock of last month's report, the September JOLTS data is returning to a familiar story: demand for workers remains robust. Demand for workers remains robust with the latest data showing roughly 1.9 job openings for every unemployed worker.

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www.hiringlab.org
Asheville cost of living still tops in the state, while wages lag
AVL metro cost of living still tops in NC, while wages lag

With a cost of living index rating of 106, with 100 being average, AVL is most expensive place in the state to live among metro areas participating in the most recent C2ER Cost of Living survey, as provided by the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce

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www.citizen-times.com
BE PRO BE PROUD North Carolina
BE PRO BE PROUD - North Carolina

There are thousands of opportunities right here in NC for skilled professionals. And this is where you'll find them. If you've got the talent and the ambition, NC's top employers are looking for you.

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www.beprobeproudnc.org
BE PRO BE PROUD

Book a tour stop!

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vimeo.com
NC unemployment rate rises for 3rd straight month to 3.8%
N. Carolina unemployment rate rises for 3rd straight month

North Carolina's unemployment rate is slowly ratcheting upward by rising slightly for the third consecutive month, according to state Commerce Department figures released on Friday.

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www.wral.com
State of Our Workforce WNC survey results from 795 employers released
  • Overall, respondents to the 2022 survey anticipate hiring between 22,150 and 44,140 total new employees in the next three years.
  • Healthcare and Manufacturing Industry employers anticipate the largest hiring needs.
  • Employers seek workers with degrees and credentials.
  • Employers will rely on on-the-job training to develop and strengthen existing workforces.
  • Employers cite housing cost/availability, wages and child care as the most significant obstacles to talent recruitment and retention.
  • Employers continue to hire through friends and networks, but are also utilizing online job portals to source their talent.
  • The average talent pipeline rating was 2.83 out of 5.
  • Internships are the most preferred method of K-12 student engagement but methods vary by industry. 
The State of Our Workforce: Western NC

Our goal with The State of Our Workforce: Western NC is to identify solutions to close the skills gap and strengthen our local talent pool -which will ensure that companies in our area have the resources and people they need to succeed.

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www.ashevillechamber.org
State of Our Workforce WNC Interactive Dashboard

The survey ran from March 15, 2022 - May 31, 2022.

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public.tableau.com
Challenges mountain biz owners likely to face in coming yrs

A new survey has provided insight into the successes and challenges of the workforce in Western North Carolina.

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wlos.com
NCWorks Career Center Asheville workshops November - December 2022
Mountain Area Careers
NC Jobs | Mountain Area Careers | Western North Carolina

Create Your Future in the Mountains of Western North Carolina. Find jobs from great employers. Earn a steady living and advance your career.

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www.mountainareacareers.org