Covered employment (QCEW) in Buncombe County

Covered employment (QCEW) in Buncombe County was 134,686 jobs in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is down 1.3% from 2024. That is the 6th highest of 100 counties in 2025.

2025, jobs134,686

Change on 2024-1.3%

Rank6th of 100Counties in North Carolina ranked

Series high138,2872023

Series low103,6762002

Next release: Saturday, 21 August 2027, estimated by Invokely from past publication dates (low confidence), not announced by the publisher. Release calendar

Covered employment (QCEW) in Buncombe County, 2001 to 2025

jobs. Source: BLS, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12, published 2026-08-21.

All 25 values

Period	jobs
2025	134,686
2024	136,495
2023	138,287
2022	135,740
2021	130,680
2020	122,558
2019	135,002
2018	132,579
2017	129,771
2016	127,316
2015	123,874
2014	119,125
2013	116,448
2012	113,592
2011	111,113
2010	110,143
2009	109,831
2008	115,491
2007	116,030
2006	111,988
2005	108,914
2004	106,219
2003	104,471
2002	103,676
2001	105,378

Compared with North Carolina and United States

Place	2025
Buncombe County	134,686
North Carolina	4,941,383
United States	155,732,363

Buncombe County compared with nearby places

Under 5,000
5,000 to 9,000
9,000 to 17K
17K to 29K
29K to 60K
60K and over

Covered employment (QCEW), 2025, jobs. Buncombe County is outlined. Same source and period for every area shown. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Rankings

US states by covered employment (QCEW) 51 places
Counties in North Carolina by covered employment (QCEW) 100 places

Definition

Average number of jobs covered by unemployment insurance during the year, all industries, private and government, from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Counted where the job is located, from the reports employers file each quarter; monthly employment counts the jobs in the pay period that includes the 12th.

Counts jobs, not people: someone with two jobs counts twice. Covers about 95 percent of US wage and salary jobs. Excludes the self-employed, most agricultural workers on small farms, the armed forces, elected officials in most states, most railroad employees, some domestic workers and most student workers at schools. A count of employer reports, not a survey estimate like oews_employment.

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How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties (Covered employment (QCEW), Buncombe County, 2001 to 2025) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv

MLA 9

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties, Covered employment (QCEW), Buncombe County, 2001 to 2025. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/covered-employment/buncombe-county-north-carolina. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Covered employment (QCEW), Buncombe County, 2001 to 2025. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/covered-employment/buncombe-county-north-carolina.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties, Covered employment (QCEW), Buncombe County, 2001 to 2025 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/covered-employment/buncombe-county-north-carolina (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{bureau_covered_employment_qcew_buncombe_2025,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties: Covered employment (QCEW), Buncombe County, 2001 to 2025}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/covered-employment/buncombe-county-north-carolina. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties: Covered employment (QCEW), Buncombe County, 2001 to 2025
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/covered-employment/buncombe-county-north-carolina
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/covered-employment/buncombe-county-north-carolina.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

What is the covered employment (QCEW) in Buncombe County?

Covered employment (QCEW) in Buncombe County was 134,686 jobs in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is down 1.3% from 2024. That is the 6th highest of 100 counties in 2025.

Where does this figure come from?

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-12.

What was the highest covered employment (QCEW) in Buncombe County?

138,287 jobs in 2023, the highest value since 2001 in this series.

Related statistics for Buncombe County

All statistics for Buncombe County | Buncombe County in figures