Hickory and Western N.C. are Struggling to Create Jobs

 

HICKORY - Hickory and western North Carolina are trailing the rest of the state in job creation, according to a report by an Appalachian State University economist.  The report found the Hickory metropolitan area lost 6.9 percent, or about 12,500, of its jobs during the 2001 recession - which lasted from January to November of that year - compared with 1.2 percent for the state. The report used seasonally adjusted data.

 

“Hickory’s job losses during the recession were six times greater than state and national levels, and the Hickory metropolitan area has yet to experience any real recovery with employment numbers being about the same as they were at the end of the recession,” Todd Cherry, author of the report, said Wednesday.  The bulk of those jobs were in traditional manufacturing industries such as furniture and textiles.  Since the end of the recession, employment in the Hickory area has risen by about 0.5 percent, or 800 jobs, through December 2005. But employment remains down nearly 4 percent, or 7,500 jobs, from its pre-recession level.

 

It was the same story for western North Carolina. The 25-county region lost 3.4 percent of its jobs during the 2001 recession, the report found.  “The brunt of the losses was disproportionately felt by the Foothills and far-western counties,” Cherry said.  The report found western N.C. employment rose by 3.1 percent, or 17,654 jobs, through December 2005. But the region’s employment remains down nearly 2,000 jobs from pre-recession levels.  Meanwhile, statewide employment climbed by more than 235,000 workers since December 2001 and more than 187,000 from its pre-recession totals.

 

“The region is declining as part of the state’s overall labor market,” Cherry said.  So is the Hickory area, he said.  “With the sustained weakness in the metro area’s labor market, it appears Hickory has experienced an out-migration of workers - most likely the area’s more skilled workers,” Cherry said.

 

The report wasn’t all bad news. It found Asheville’s employment recovery “is the exception, with the metro area’s performance propping up the region.” The work force also ... fared well in Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, Polk and Swain counties, the report found.  But Alleghany, Avery, Cherokee, Graham, Mitchell, Watauga and Wilkes counties have struggled, the report found. And counties “still dependent upon manufacturing likely won’t see any significant economic improvement anytime soon,” Cherry warned.

 

By PATRICK JEAN and RICHARD CRAVER

Media General News Service

Monday, March 27, 2006