Most Virginia metro areas see rising unemployment

Published October 1, 2014 by Robert Powell, III

Unemployment continued to creep up at most of Virginia’s metro areas in August, according to the Virginia Employment Commission.

The jobless rates in eight of the commonwealth’s 11 metro areas rose during the month in a range of three-tenths of percentage point to half a point.

The three areas where unemployment rates were unchanged in August were Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, Harrisonburg and Bristol.

Only one urban area in the state, Northern Virginia, now has a jobless rate under 5 percent, 4.7 percent. In July, the Charlottesville and Winchester areas also had rates under 5 percent.

While Northern Virginia had the lowest rate, the Danville area continued to have the highest, 8.4 percent.

The biggest jumps in unemployment occurred in the Richmond and Roanoke areas, both of which saw their numbers rise half of a percentage point , from 5.6 to 6.1 percent.

All of the numbers are not seasonally adjusted, meaning they do not reflect seasonal fluctuations in the labor market. The corresponding state and national unemployment rates during August were 6.3 and 5.7 percent, respectively.

The more widely used seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Virginia in August was 5.6 percent, an increase of three-tenths of a percentage point from July. Virginia’s jobless rate has inched up in three of the past four months.

Here is a breakdown of the metro-area unemployment numbers:

Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford: 6.2 percent in August, unchanged from July.
Bristol: 7.2 percent, unchanged.
Charlottesville: 5.2 percent, up from 4.8 percent.
Danville: 8.4 percent, up from 8 percent.
Hampton Roads: 6.2 percent, up from 5.8 percent.
Harrisonburg: 5.5 percent, unchanged.
Lynchburg: 6.6 percent, up from 6.3 percent.
Northern Virginia: 4.7 percent, up from 4.3 percent.
Richmond: 6.1 percent, up from 5.6 percent.
Roanoke: 6.1 percent, up from 5.6 percent.
Winchester: 5.2 percent, up from 4.8 percent.