When the pandemic first hit, many Macon County employers couldn’t afford to keep their full staffs on the schedule. Now, as North Carolina continues to loosen restrictions, employers face the opposite problem.
According to Tommy Jenkins, chairman of the Macon County Economic Development Commission, the county’s economy is rebounding nicely. Sales tax revenues are beginning to climb, the real estate market is heating up and local professionals are feeling “cautiously optimistic.”
Perhaps most notable, though, is that unemployment numbers have dropped quite a bit since they spiked all over the nation in the early days of COVID-19.
“Our unemployment is at 5.8%, which is actually below the average regional rate,” Jenkins said. “Considering our national environment with COVID-19, I’d say we’re doing pretty well.”
Jenkins said that there are more job openings around the county than there are applicants to fill them. This is good news for Macon County jobseekers, many of whom were laid off earlier this year and who may still be looking for their next career.
On the other side of the equation, it puts employers in a tough spot. Outdoor 76 shut down for 45 days between March and May and returned to a huge influx of business. The problem was that several of their furloughed employees chose not to return for various reasons, putting an unexpected strain on those who remained.
“We had every intention of bringing back everyone who was furloughed while we were shut down,” Outdoor 76 owner Rob Gasbarro said. “We were busy right out of the gate.”
The story is similar for many local businesses. Beasley Flooring Products is hiring people almost every other day to keep shifts staffed, and they’re still looking for more. Human resources manager Lynn Cody said many jobseekers who come through the door looking for an application go straight into an interview during the same visit.
“We’ve got about 18 positions open right now, and we’re just looking for the right people to fill them,” Cody said. ‘We’re hiring about four people per week. We’d like to see more.”
More employers than ever have been encouraged to reach out to NCWorks, which helps connect employers and jobseekers through application counseling, career fairs, resource organization and a variety of other programs. Paula Alter, director of Franklin’s NCWorks Career Center, said that businesses have been coordinating with their office more often in the last few months. This has been good for the businesses and their applicants – the more information NCWorks has on potential clients’ needs, the better a match they can provide.
“Employers have been appreciative of the communication and resources available from our career center,” Alter said. “This also allows our career advisors to better understand specific skills and training needed so they can make better employer-job seeker matches.”
The ratio of positions to applicants will normalize over time – the pandemic is still a factor, after all – but for now, there are plenty of hopeful signs for Macon County’s economy. Jenkins said it’s all subject to change, but barring unforeseen factors, the worst of the pandemic’s economic toll is hopefully in the past.
“Given the experience we’ve had, I think we’re going to see more growth,” he said.
For more information on economic opportunities in Macon County, call the Macon County Economic Development Commission at 828-369-2306 or email edc@maconnc.org. For help seeking a job or reaching out to applicants, call the NCWorks Career Center at 828-369-9534 or go online to ncworks.gov.