Jackson County, NC jobs, unemployment and layoffs
Jackson County economy
3.5%
unemployment, Aug 2026
3.7% the month before
22,093
in the labor force
Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
43,089
people in Jackson County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
$53,479
median household income
Source: Census ACS
32%
of workers in white-collar occupations
Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS
Jackson County layoffs
No WARN layoff notices naming Jackson County in the last 12 months are on file. WARN covers employers with 100 or more workers, so smaller layoffs are not in it.
Employers hiring most in Jackson County
Employers with the most open professional roles in this county’s cities. The county is taken from each job’s city, so roles with no city are not counted.
- LifePoint Health2 open roles
- R1 RCM1 open role
- Western Carolina University1 open role
Colleges in Jackson County
| College | City | Type | Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Carolina University | Cullowhee | Public 4-year | 10,000–19,999 |
Workforce development and job centers
The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving Jackson County. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.
- Southwestern Workforce Development Board
Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Swain
NCWorks Career Center- Jackson County
Sylva · Affiliate · 828-586-4063
Mon and Wed 8:30 am -4:30 pm,(Closed 12pm-1pm for lunch) Fri 8:30-12:pm
Cities in Jackson County
Other North Carolina counties
Laid off or looking for work in Jackson County?
See what to do first and the jobs open near you.
See your options after a layoffSources: Census Bureau and BLS (county unemployment is not seasonally adjusted); WARN notices from North Carolina’s published record; job counts from our live job board; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers.