Author: Tim Aylor
The realities of Appalachian poverty — low wages, high unemployment, aging populations, low educational attainment — are still evident in much of North Carolina’s Western Prosperity Zone region. However, recent data indicate that conditions in some parts of that region have improved markedly as evidenced by the Asheville metro area’s low unemployment rate.
The Western Prosperity Zone is a new 13-county region located in the southwest corner of the state. It is one of eight regional planning areas that were formed in 2014 to improve efficiencies between governmental agencies at a regional level and to enhance customer service. For an economic and demographic introduction to these new regions, see Prosperity Zone Data Books on LEAD’s website.
The Western data illustrates economic conditions found in many rural, mountain areas. Western has the third fewest residents among the regions and its population has grown more slowly than the statewide growth rate. It also has a slightly elevated concentration of older residents. Wages are much lower in the region than in the state as a whole — exacerbated by the rates of business and job loss that occurred during the most recent recession that were also worse than experienced statewide. Like many mountain areas popular with visitors, Western is among the most reliant of the regions on tourism-related retail and food service jobs.
Western region tourism spending was $2.1 billion and employed more than 21,000 in 2013 but, in recent years, the region’s economy has continued to diversify beyond tourism. Of the regions in 2013, Western was the most reliant on Health Care and Social Assistance industry jobs at 17 percent of all private sector jobs. A wide variety of products are also made in the region. Electrical Equipment & Appliance, Plastics & Rubber, and Paper are leading manufacturing sectors in the region with nearly 9,000 jobs in 2013 — and they added to or maintained those jobs from 2008–2013. Growing educational, recreational, and cultural opportunities as well as having a great environment for start-up businesses add to its economic vitality.
Western’s economic recovery is being led by its urban center, the Asheville metro area. From 2010–2014, Asheville MSA’s population grew slightly slower than statewide, but attracted migrating newcomers at a faster rate. Buncombe County alone added more than 12,000 residents — the 10th largest county increase. The large majority of these new residents migrated into the area from other parts of the state and from around the U.S. They helped the construction industry recovery in 2014 as the value of residential building permits in the Asheville metro area rose to $386 million, an increase of more than 20 percent from 2013, but still far below its prerecession peak. The size of the Asheville metro area labor force grew by 10,600 from the beginning of the most recent recession in 2007 to February 2015 — an increase of 5.2 percent compared to 3.7 percent statewide.
