How Much Has The Pandemic Impacted Employment in the Asheville Metro?
May 26, 2020
By mid-March 2020 communities in the four-county Asheville metro (Buncombe, Henderson, Haywood, and Madison) began to experience the early impacts of the lockdown implemented to combat the looming coronavirus pandemic. The March employment numbers showed a slight decline of 0.7 percent, about 1,300 fewer jobs: although capturing just the first two weeks of the economic crisis.
Employment data covering the entire month of April presents the earliest picture of the virus’s full effect. So how much has the pandemic impacted employment in the Asheville metro?
Data released by the North Carolina Department of Commerce shows the Asheville metro economy has been deeply harmed. The data is from a comprehensive survey of businesses conducted along with the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and represents an estimate of economic activity. According to the North Carolina Department of Commerce, the Asheville metro lost 36,400 jobs in April 2020 when compared to April 2019; a drop of 18.3 percent (see chart below). By contrast the recession of 2008 led to a loss of about 10,600 jobs following a gradual decline lasting nearly a year.
Asheville MSA
Employment
Monthly Year-to-Year Change
Source: N.C. Department of Commerce
Compared to all fifteen metros on the state, Asheville’s percentage loss ties as the largest along with Hickory and Greensboro-High Point: all experiencing 18 percent declines (see chart below). Over the same period nationwide employment declined by 12.9 percent and statewide by 12.3 percent.
Annual Employment Percent Change
North Carolina Metros
April 2020
Source: N.C. Department of Commerce
Unsurprisingly and reflecting the targeted nature of the lockdown, Asheville’s Leisure & Hospitality Services industry sector experienced the deepest declines; losing 18,700 jobs or down 63.2 percent (see chart below). This single sector accounted for slightly more than one-half of the total net job losses in the metro.
Asheville Metro
Annual Employment Change by Industry
April 2020
Source: N.C. Department of Commerce
Until March 2020, the Asheville metro had experienced a record-breaking nine- and one-half-year expansion; adding a net 33,300 new jobs-remarkably close to the number lost in just one month.
Going forward the Asheville metro’s future will be reliant on the return and reinvention of many local businesses, the same forces that have led a strong economy over many previous decades.
Do you and your business need help navigating these changing times? Contact JPS.
Asheville Boone Marion
828-254-2374 828-262-0997 828-652-7044
