| 2001 Jobs | 2015 Jobs | Loss/Gain | |
| McDowell County | 20,472 | 20,035 | -437 |
| Polk County | 7,196 | 8,084 | 888 |
| Rutherford County | 30,410 | 26,737 | -3,673 |
Despite the overall population size remaining stable over the last 15 years, the number of jobs in McDowell and Rutherford have shrunk, 2.1% and 12.1% respectively.