Overview
The labor force of an area includes people who are both employed as well as those who are seeking employment. The presence of a skilled and educated population is as much a result as a cause of success. The portion of the population participating in the labor force and the portion of the labor force that is employed are indicators of economic health. Places with vibrant economies tend to have higher labor force participation rates and, as a local economy grows, not only does the labor force often increase, but the unemployment rate typically decreases.
An educated labor force has long been a fundamental element of economic development. People with more education tend to earn higher wages, exhibit lower rates of unemployment, and substantially contribute to business recruitment and growth. An educated labor force is also an indicator of economic health because adults with higher education levels are more likely to locate in places offering the most economic opportunity.
Deepening economic inequality is fundamentally associated with the spatial polarization between central cities and sprawling suburbs, and between wealthy regions and poorer ones. This economic segregation hurts wealthy and middle-class suburbanites as well as the urban poor. Policy choices and market forces are responsible for these growth patterns, and it is often up to public policy to level the metropolitan playing field. While "racial segregation is clearly a major cause of economic segregation", it has now become one element in the larger trend of widening spatial separation between rich and poor.
Since 1970, the U.S. has not become more racially segregated, but it has become more economically segregated. The detrimental effects of economic segregation and sprawl can be examined through: disparities in job opportunity and income levels; inadequate health care and higher rates of disease and mortality among the poor; environmental degradation; differentials in cost and selection of consumer goods; and crime rates. Furthermore, “the attributes of neighborhoods and the experiences provided by neighborhoods have profound effects on people’s capabilities and their ideas about what they can accomplish.” The spatial implications of these effects are directly related to the overall vitality of a city, and determine future growth, development, sustainability, and prosperity.
An educated labor force has long been a fundamental element of economic development. People with more education tend to earn higher wages, exhibit lower rates of unemployment, and substantially contribute to business recruitment and growth. An educated labor force is also an indicator of economic health because adults with higher education levels are more likely to locate in places offering the most economic opportunity.
Deepening economic inequality is fundamentally associated with the spatial polarization between central cities and sprawling suburbs, and between wealthy regions and poorer ones. This economic segregation hurts wealthy and middle-class suburbanites as well as the urban poor. Policy choices and market forces are responsible for these growth patterns, and it is often up to public policy to level the metropolitan playing field. While "racial segregation is clearly a major cause of economic segregation", it has now become one element in the larger trend of widening spatial separation between rich and poor.
Since 1970, the U.S. has not become more racially segregated, but it has become more economically segregated. The detrimental effects of economic segregation and sprawl can be examined through: disparities in job opportunity and income levels; inadequate health care and higher rates of disease and mortality among the poor; environmental degradation; differentials in cost and selection of consumer goods; and crime rates. Furthermore, “the attributes of neighborhoods and the experiences provided by neighborhoods have profound effects on people’s capabilities and their ideas about what they can accomplish.” The spatial implications of these effects are directly related to the overall vitality of a city, and determine future growth, development, sustainability, and prosperity.
Economy
As the largest city in Western North Carolina, Asheville has traditionally been a regional leader in business and cultural activities. Now, because of the City’s national recognition as a great place to live, work, and play, Asheville is attracting interest from a much broader area. The Asheville Metropolitan region is a $15 billion economy and cultivates specialization in health services, education, arts, and tourism-related industries.
During the past 20 years, the Western North Carolina region has consistently experienced a higher unemployment rate than the state as a whole. In 2010, the unemployment rate in the Western North Carolina region was 11.2 percent (compared with 10.6 percent for North Carolina) – up considerably from 4.4 percent in 1990 and 3.9 percent in 2000. In Western North Carolina, 81.3 percent of the population (25+ years old) currently has at least a high school-level education, up from only 74 percent a decade ago. Over the same decade, the percent of the population in the Western North Carolina region with at least a bachelor’s degree has increased by a quarter, from 16.8 percent in 2000 to 21 percent in 2010. More than 85 percent of the population (25+ years) in Buncombe County has at least a high school-level education and over 25 percent of the population has at least a bachelor’s degree-level education. In 2009, an estimated 16.6 percent of people (all ages) in the Western North Carolina region were in poverty, compared with 15.7 percent in North Carolina and 14 percent in the U.S. While the Western North Carolina region has experienced poverty rates higher than the state or national level for the past decade, this has not always been the case. In 1995, for instance, the poverty rate in the Western North Carolina region was 12.8 percent, lower than the state level of 12.9 percent and the national level of 13.7 percent.
According to The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Asheville’s per capita income for 2012 was $36,125, ninth among North Carolina’s 14 metro areas. Asheville’s per capita income is 17.4 percent below the national average and 4.7 percent below the state. Per capita income for the Asheville metro has grown at the fifth highest rate in the state since 2010, increasing 7.3 percent in two years; outpacing the state by .04 percent over the same time. On a regional level, the median household income in Western North Carolina has not only been consistently less than that of the United States and North Carolina, but has also been growing more slowly since 1995. Although the median household income has increased in the Western North Carolina region as a whole since 1995, the percent difference between the lowest and highest median household incomes has also increased, indicating less evenly distributed median incomes among the counties. While the median incomes are at different values from county to county, the trends are consistent on national, state, and regional levels, indicating similar responses to broad economic pressures and the shift from an industry- to service-based economy.
During the past 20 years, the Western North Carolina region has consistently experienced a higher unemployment rate than the state as a whole. In 2010, the unemployment rate in the Western North Carolina region was 11.2 percent (compared with 10.6 percent for North Carolina) – up considerably from 4.4 percent in 1990 and 3.9 percent in 2000. In Western North Carolina, 81.3 percent of the population (25+ years old) currently has at least a high school-level education, up from only 74 percent a decade ago. Over the same decade, the percent of the population in the Western North Carolina region with at least a bachelor’s degree has increased by a quarter, from 16.8 percent in 2000 to 21 percent in 2010. More than 85 percent of the population (25+ years) in Buncombe County has at least a high school-level education and over 25 percent of the population has at least a bachelor’s degree-level education. In 2009, an estimated 16.6 percent of people (all ages) in the Western North Carolina region were in poverty, compared with 15.7 percent in North Carolina and 14 percent in the U.S. While the Western North Carolina region has experienced poverty rates higher than the state or national level for the past decade, this has not always been the case. In 1995, for instance, the poverty rate in the Western North Carolina region was 12.8 percent, lower than the state level of 12.9 percent and the national level of 13.7 percent.
According to The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Asheville’s per capita income for 2012 was $36,125, ninth among North Carolina’s 14 metro areas. Asheville’s per capita income is 17.4 percent below the national average and 4.7 percent below the state. Per capita income for the Asheville metro has grown at the fifth highest rate in the state since 2010, increasing 7.3 percent in two years; outpacing the state by .04 percent over the same time. On a regional level, the median household income in Western North Carolina has not only been consistently less than that of the United States and North Carolina, but has also been growing more slowly since 1995. Although the median household income has increased in the Western North Carolina region as a whole since 1995, the percent difference between the lowest and highest median household incomes has also increased, indicating less evenly distributed median incomes among the counties. While the median incomes are at different values from county to county, the trends are consistent on national, state, and regional levels, indicating similar responses to broad economic pressures and the shift from an industry- to service-based economy.