Buncombe County’s labor market is continuing its slow recovery from Hurricane Helene, although the leisure and hospitality sector remains hard hit.
Figures released Wednesday by the North Carolina Department of Commerce show that Buncombe had an unemployment rate of 4.7% in April, down from 5.3% in March.
The Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area — which includes Buncombe, Henderson, Haywood and Madison Counties — had an unemployment rate of 4.2%. Statewide, the rate was 3.4%.
Compared with the same point last year, there were 2,400 fewer leisure and hospitality jobs in the Asheville metro area this April, according to the data. By contrast, there were 1,100 more jobs in the private education and health services industries than last year, and 500 more jobs in the professional and business services sector.
The N.C. Department of Commerce releases unemployment figures every month.
Board members of the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority discussed the issue at length during their monthly meeting Wednesday.
TDA President and CEO Vic Isley said that since November, Explore Asheville and the TDA have invested about $4.7 million in marketing and messaging aimed at inviting travelers back to Asheville. Roughly the same amount was budgeted for April through June.
Of the TDA’s marketing budget, $1 million came from matching state funds allocated by Visit NC. That paid for ads and other media in Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C., Isley said.
In-state marketing is a big focus as well, Isley said, including the message that “seeing is believing” — in other words, “getting people here to actually witness for themselves” that the region is recovering.
“Like the governor has said … the most fun public service you’ll be doing as a North Carolinian is to come back to western North Carolina,” she said.
