As of April 16, more than 630,000 North Carolina workers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic had filed for state unemployment benefits, but even with many industries still shuttered, many others are still looking for workers.
Tourism is the largest industry in much of Western North Carolina. Without a diversified manufacturing base, that means rural counties in the region are facing an especially challenging time as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Roughly one in 10 workers are in a hospitality-related field in Jackson County,” said Nick Breedlove, executive director of the Jackson County Tourism Development Authority. “In Jackson County it's hard to put an exact figure, but I do know in the state of North Carolina approximately 75 percent of the hospitality workforce is currently out of a job, so that's roughly 300-some thousand-plus workers without a job.”
With room occupancy rates less than half of what they would be and state orders prohibiting visitors on holiday, Breedlove and the Jackson TDA have done a 180 – instead of looking outward, they’re looking in.
“About March 17th, we created a central website, LoveJacksonNC.com, that's solely for the community, not for visitors,” said Breedlove.
Initially focused on publicizing restaurants and breweries with take-out service, the website quickly began to feature employment resources.
“Most people know a few of the sources, the classified pages, to look for jobs but there wasn't really an exhaustive list,” he said. “So we compiled a list of all the major employers and job banks and listed it on that site for a central repository.”
That repository shows plenty of jobs available at places like Sonoco Plastics and Ingles Markets, where CFO Ron Freeman said the company was looking forward to adding another 5,000 workers to its payroll.
Breedlove said he thinks the mountain region will recover faster than other areas, and is looking forward to something else entirely.
“Personally,” he said, “I can tell you I'm looking forward to hearing the words, ‘Can I start you off with an appetizer’ or ‘Would you like to start a tab?’”
LoveJacksonNC.com is updated regularly, and also features a virtual tip jar, with all proceeds going to local service industry workers.