Covered employment (QCEW) in Watauga County

Covered employment (QCEW) in Watauga County was 24,591 jobs in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is down 2.1% from 2024. That is the 39th highest of 100 counties in 2025.

2025, jobs24,591

Change on 2024-2.1%

Rank39th of 100Counties in North Carolina ranked

Series high25,1062024

Series low20,5012009

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 Watauga 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	24,591
2024	25,106
2023	25,041
2022	24,272
2021	23,599
2020	22,191
2019	24,184
2018	23,614
2017	23,208
2016	22,735
2015	22,285
2014	21,839
2013	21,414
2012	21,266
2011	21,183
2010	21,204
2009	20,501
2008	21,452
2007	22,487
2006	21,982
2005	21,412
2004	20,825
2003	20,667
2002	20,679
2001	20,963

Compared with North Carolina and United States

Place	2025
Watauga County	24,591
North Carolina	4,941,383
United States	155,732,363

Watauga 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. Watauga 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), Watauga 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), Watauga 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/watauga-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), Watauga 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/watauga-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), Watauga 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/watauga-county-north-carolina (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{bureau_covered_employment_qcew_watauga_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), Watauga 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/watauga-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), Watauga 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/watauga-county-north-carolina
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/covered-employment/watauga-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 Watauga County?

Covered employment (QCEW) in Watauga County was 24,591 jobs in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is down 2.1% from 2024. That is the 39th 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 Watauga County?

25,106 jobs in 2024, the highest value since 2001 in this series.

Related statistics for Watauga County

All statistics for Watauga County | Watauga County in figures