Watauga County's unemployment rate of 7.4 percent is more than 2 percent below the state average, but still more than double the levels of a few years ago, when the county generally had unemployment in the 3-to-4 percent range and had one of the lowest rates in the state.
Charlie Anderson, the Veterans Employment specialist with the local branch of the N.C. Employment Security Commission, said while service industry jobs had picked up, construction was still seeing little activity. Overall, though, "the numbers are better than they were this time last year,' Anderson said.
Despite national job growth overall, the unemployment rate rose again in August to 9.6 percent.
North Carolina income is still growing overall, according to the non-profit Budget & Tax Center.