CERPA WNC Economic Index: March 2012 Report

7/31/2019 CERPA WNC Economic Index: March 2012 Report

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March 2012

Western North Carolina economic activity, as measuredby the Western North Carolina Economic Index,remained unchanged for March, 2012. The index, whichtracks the level of economic activity in 25 western NorthCarolina counties, remained constant for the fourth monthin a row. This follows five months of consistent increasesin the index.

Seasonally adjusted employment for WNC increased by0.1 percent in March, providing the eighth consecutivemonth of increases. Statewide adjusted employment alsoincreased by 0.1 percent.

Mapping the growth in employment over the precedingmonth provides a county-level account of job creation.Changes in seasonally adjusted county-level employmentduring the month remains mixed across the region, risingin 18 of the 25 counties. Graham, Ashe, and Swaincounties had the largest employment gains (with 1.6, 1.5,and 1.4 percent increases, respectively), while Watauga,Avery, and Henderson had the largest losses (with 1.5,1.0, and 0.3 percent decreases, respectively).

Seasonally adjusted WNC unemployment registered 9.6percent in March down 0.2 points from February. Thestate unemployment rate also decreased by 0.2 points to9.7 percent, while the national unemployment rate fell by

0.1 point to 8.2 percent.


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The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate within theregions rural counties decreased by 0.1 points to 10.8percent in March. In the regions metro areas,unemployment decreased by 0.2 points in both Ashevilleand Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir to 7.4 and 10.8 percent,respectively

County-level seasonally adjusted unemployment rateswere highest in Graham, Swain, and Rutherford counties(with rates at 18.5, 16.7, and 14.2 percent, respectively).Rates were lowest in Henderson, Buncombe, and Polkcounties (at 7.3, 7.7, and 7.8 percent, respectively). Theaverage unemployment rate across the region was 9.6percent, while it was 8.2 percent at the national level.

Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates fell in all 25WNC counties, with an average decrease of 1.0 points.Mirroring the changes in employment, Ashe, Graham,

and Swain had the largest decreases in unemploymentrates (with a 3.0, 2.2, and 2.0 point decrease,respectively). Watauga, Henderson, and Buncombe hadthe lowest (with a 0.2, 0.4, and 0.5 point decrease,respectively).

Looking over the last 12-month period, all but three WNCcounties experienced decreases in unemployment.Unemployment rates in Burke, Catawba, and Wilkesdecreased the most over this period (by 1.8, 1.7, and 1.6points, respectively) while rates in Yancey, Jackson, andGraham all increased (by 0.5, 0.3, and 0.1 points,respectively).

Seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemploymentinsurance in the region, a leading indicator ofunemployment, decreased by 15.5 percent in March.Initial claims decreased 6.5 percent in Asheville and 22.3percent in Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir.

About the Report

The WNC Economic Index and Report provides amonthly account of economic conditions for the 25counties in western North Carolina.

The WNC Economic Index and Report is a cooperativeeffort by the Center for Economic Research & PolicyAnalysis at Appalachian State University and AdvantageWest. The report is compiled and written by John W.Dawson and O. Ashton Morgan.


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Table 1: WNC County Unemployment Rankings

County Mar 2012 Rank Feb 2012 Jan 2012 Dec 2012 Mar 2011% Pt ChangeLast Month Rank

% Pt ChangeLast Year Rank

Alexander 10.0 8 10.5 10.5 10.6 10.7 -0.5 21 -0.7 15

Alleghany 12.4 21 14.1 14.1 12.6 13.3 -1.7 4 -0.9 8

Ashe 12.2 17 15.2 14.1 12.3 13.3 -3.0 1 -1.1 5

Avery 12.3 20 13.0 13.4 12.5 12.5 -0.7 18 -0.2 22

Buncombe 7.7 2 8.2 8.3 7.8 8.2 -0.5 23 -0.5 17

Burke 10.8 11 11.5 12.2 12.2 12.6 -0.7 16 -1.8 1

Caldwell 12.2 18 12.7 12.9 13.1 12.9 -0.5 22 -0.7 13

Catawba 11.0 12 11.7 12.3 12.2 12.7 -0.7 17 -1.7 2

Cherokee 13.3 22 14.0 14.9 13.6 13.6 -0.7 19 -0.3 21

Clay 9.9 7 11.2 11.4 10.6 10.8 -1.3 7 -0.9 9

Graham 18.5 25 20.7 20.5 18.8 18.4 -2.2 2 0.1 23

Haywood 9.3 5 10.0 10.2 9.6 10.7 -0.7 15 -1.4 4

Henderson 7.3 1 7.7 8.0 7.8 8.4 -0.4 24 -1.1 6

Jackson 10.4 10 11.3 11.6 10.2 10.1 -0.9 10 0.3 24

Macon 11.6 14 12.9 13.2 11.8 12.4 -1.3 6 -0.8 10

Madison 9.6 6 10.3 10.7 9.2 10.3 -0.7 14 -0.7 12

McDowell 12.0 16 12.8 13.2 13.0 12.8 -0.8 12 -0.8 11

Mitchell 11.9 15 13.3 13.8 12.3 12.2 -1.4 5 -0.3 20

Polk 7.8 3 8.4 8.5 8.2 8.5 -0.6 20 -0.7 14

Rutherford 14.2 23 15.0 15.4 14.6 14.5 -0.8 13 -0.3 19

Swain 16.7 24 18.7 19.4 17.0 17.7 -2.0 3 -1.0 7

Transylvania 10.2 9 11.1 11.3 10.5 10.5 -0.9 9 -0.3 18

Watauga 8.9 4 9.1 9.2 8.7 9.4 -0.2 25 -0.5 16

Wilkes 11.1 13 11.9 11.9 11.7 12.7 -0.8 11 -1.6 3

Yancey 12.2 19 13.4 14.0 12.5 11.7 -1.2 8 0.5 25

Asheville 7.4 7.6 7.8 8.4 8.2 -0.2 -0.8Hickory 10.8 11.0 11.5 12.4 12.2 -0.2 -1.4

WNC 9.6 9.8 10.1 10.8 10.5 -0.2 -0.9

NC 9.7 9.9 10.2 10.4 10.4 -0.2 -0.7

US 8.2 8.3 8.3 8.5 8.9 -0.1 -0.7

NOTE: all data are seasonally adjusted and revised each month using the most recent figures from government sources.


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Table 2: WNC Economic Index Historic Data

Year Month WNC IndexPercentage

ChangeUnemployment

RateTotal

Employment

2012 3 102.0 0.0 9.6 551,922

2012 2 102.0 0.0 9.8 552,566

2012 1 102.0 0.0 10.1 551,684

2011 12 102.0 0.2 10.8 551,178

2011 11 101.8 0.4 11.0 550,731

2011 10 101.4 0.3 11.2 548,9862011 9 101.2 0.3 11.6 547,911

2011 8 100.9 0.6 11.3 546,510

2011 7 100.3 0.0 11.0 544,131

2011 6 100.3 -0.1 11.0 545,721

2011 5 100.4 0.4 10.7 547,636

2011 4 100.0 -0.5 10.7 546,663

2011 3 100.5 0.5 10.5 549,878

2011 2 100.0 0.8 10.6 546,176

2011 1 99.2 -0.5 11.0 540,615

2010 12 99.7 -0.1 11.3 541,988

2010 11 99.8 0.0 11.9 542,6922010 10 99.8 0.4 11.3 543,245

2010 9 99.4 0.3 11.6 542,260

2010 8 99.2 0.5 11.5 542,344

2010 7 98.7 0.0 11.2 541,359

2010 6 98.7 0.0 11.4 543,331

2010 5 98.8 0.5 11.5 545,618

2010 4 98.2 0.7 11.9 544,168

2010 3 97.5 0.7 12.0 540,750

2010 2 96.8 0.0 12.0 537,004

2010 1 96.8 1.6 12.0 536,895

2009 12 95.3 -0.4 12.2 529,291

2009 11 95.6 0.7 12.2 532,903

2009 10 95.0 0.2 12.3 531,201

2009 9 94.7 0.1 12.2 532,468

2009 8 94.6 -0.1 11.9 533,484

2009 7 94.7 0.4 11.6 535,496

2009 6 94.3 -0.3 11.9 535,410

2009 5 94.6 0.0 11.9 537,805

2009 4 94.6 0.0 12.0 539,211

2009 3 94.6 -1.1 11.4 541,199

2009 2 95.7 -0.4 10.8 546,741

2009 1 96.0 -1.8 10.0 548,939

2008 12 97.8 -0.9 8.9 559,173

2008 11 98.7 -1.6 8.2 562,477

2008 10 100.3 -1.2 7.3 569,042

2008 9 101.6 -0.7 7.0 572,454

2008 8 102.3 -0.9 6.8 575,018

2008 7 103.1 -0.4 6.4 578,246NOTE: all data are seasonally adjusted and revised each month.

Documents

CERPA WNC Economic Index: March 2012 Report