Economic activity within western North Carolina increased again in April, improving by 0.6 percent, according to the Western NC Economic Index. The Index, which tracks 25 counties, has shown improvement in seven of the past eight months. Full report. [PDF]

According to the report, "The increase in April follows a strong first quarter of 2010, in which the regional economy grew at an annual rate of 3.6 percent. The national economy grew at a 3.0 percent rate during the same period." Yet unemployment still remains high. "The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate within the region's rural counties fell 0.3 points to 11.5 percent in April. In the region's metro areas, unemployment increased 0.1 point in Asheville to 8.9 percent and decreased 0.5 points in Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir to 13.9 percent."

The WNC Index is compiled by Dr. Todd Cherry, economics professor and director of the Center for Economic Research and Policy Analysis (CERPA). He says the April report shows both improvement and areas of concern.

"The regional economy grew 3.6 percent in the first quarter of the year, which is a bit better than the national figure of 3.0 percent during this period; however, this does not mean the region is out of the woods," said Todd Cherry, a co-author of the report and director of the Center for Economic Research and Policy Analysis at Appalachian. "The national economy remains fragile and global conditions provide reasons for concern, but the region has begun to move in the right direction in recent months."

The economic growth is slowly adding new jobs in the region as well, with the largest increase occurring in Alleghany and Yancey counties. "The region's economic growth is beginning to translate to new jobs and lower unemployment," Cherry said. "Employment has increased each of the past three months, but there is a very long way to go. We've only regained one of the six jobs we’ve lost over the past couple of years."

The economy activity of Western North Carolina declined by .1 percent in October, according to the monthly WNC Economic Index. Produced by the Center for Economic Research and Policy Analysis, the report traces employment figures for 25 Western North Carolina counties.

The region has lost jobs in 22 of the past 23 months, according to a press release.

"Rural parts of the region continue to struggle more than the rest of the region, which was the case in the 2001 recession," said Todd Cherry, a co-author of the Western North Carolina Economic Report and director of the Center for Economic Research and Policy Analysis at Appalachian.

"While there were job gains in eight of the 25 counties, job losses continue to be a problem," Cherry said. "The region lost another 3,000 jobs in October. It may be some time before we begin seeing broad-based growth in regional employment."

The seasonally adjusted WNC unemployment rate registered 12.4 percent in October—up 0.2 points from September. The state unemployment rate also increased 0.2 points to 11.0 percent. The national unemployment rate registered 10.2 percent—up 0.4 points from September (revised).

Additional statistics, including a county-by-county-listing, can be found in the October report. [PDF]

The Western North Carolina Economic Index for July has been released. It finds job losses slowing in the 22 counties which comprise the Index.

The Index was down .2% for the month. Still, the region has lost over 13,000 jobs since January 2009, and nearly 40,000 since January 2008. The Wilkes Journal Patriot has more details.

County-level seasonally adjusted unemployment fell in 22 of the 25 western counties in July. The index showed seasonally adjusted employment for western North Carolina decreased 0.54 percent in July while the statewide adjusted jobless rate dropped 0.3 percent.

The western region's seasonally adjusted jobless rate was 11.1 percent in July—down 0.7 points from June. The state jobless rate was unchanged at 11.0 percent. The national jobless rate was 9.4 percent, down 0.1 points from June. ...

The overall jobless rate in the seven High Country counties (Wilkes, Ashe, Alleghany, Watauga, Avery, Mitchell and Yancey) was 10.8 in July, the lowest all year and down from a high of 12.4 in February.

The WNC Economic Index and Report is a cooperative effort by the Center for Economic Research and Policy Analysis at Appalachian State and AdvantageWest. The report is compiled and written by Todd L. Cherry, John W. Dawson and Richard Crepeau.

The latest Western North Carolina Economic Index is out. It focuses on unemployment statistics from November, and shows job losses mounting.

The Asheville Citizen-Times has a report on the latest Index.

"The employment picture is ugly. The region has lost more than 18,000 jobs since June and nearly half of those losses occurred in November," said Todd Cherry, director of ASU's Center for Economic Research and Policy Analysis. Cherry is co-author of the WNC Index, which tracks economic activity across 25 western counties.

Across the region, economic activity decreased 0.3 percent in November. The mountain economy has declined at an annual rate of 2.8 percent since June 2008.

You can view the full report at the WNC Economic Index page. It is maintained within the new Center for Economic Research and Policy Analysis (CERPA). It is housed within the economics department of Walker College.