Unemployment falls in most metro areas

Published April 8, 2016 by Robert Powell, III

Unemployment fell in 10 of 11 Virginia metro areas in February, according to the Virginia Employment Commission.

VEC figures, which are not seasonally adjusted, showed declines ranging from one-tenth to four-tenths of a percentage point during the month.

Seasonally unadjusted means that the numbers have not been adjusted to accommodate seasonal fluctuations in the labor market.

The New River Valley area (Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford) was the only metro area in the commonwealth showing an increase in employment. Its rate rose three-tenths of a percentage point in February to 5 percent.

Three metro areas — Northern Virginia, Charlottesville and Winchester — had jobless rates of less than 4 percent.

The highest rate among metro areas was Hampton Roads at 4.9 percent.

During February, the national unemployment rate stood at 5.2 percent while the Virginia rate was 4.3 percent, using seasonally unadjusted numbers.

A breakdown of the numbers shows:

Bristol: 4.8 percent in February, down from 4.9 percent in January.

Charlottesville: 3.5 percent, down from 3.9 percent.

Hampton Roads: 4.9 percent, down from 5 percent.

Harrisonburg: 4 percent, down from 4.3 percent.

Lynchburg: 4.7 percent, down from 4.9 percent.

New River Valley: 5 percent, up from 4.7 percent.

Northern Virginia: 3.4 percent, down from 3.5 percent.

Richmond: 4.2 percent, down from 4.4 percent.

Roanoke: 4.1 percent, down from 4.2 percent.

Staunton-Waynesboro: 4.1 percent, down from 4.3 percent.

Winchester: 3.8 percent, down from 3.9 percent.