Home News Industries Government Va. April unemployment rate at 4.7%, drops nearly half point

Va. April unemployment rate at 4.7%, drops nearly half point

State's jobless rate a year ago was 10%+

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Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was at 4.7% in April, dropping 0.4 percentage points below March’s jobless rate.

April’s statewide unemployment rate was 5.9 percentage points below April 2020’s rate of 10.6%, the first full month of pandemic-related job losses. Virginia contends to trend lower than the nation, however. The U.S. unemployment rate for April was 6.1%.

“Virginia’s unemployment rate has decreased every month since last June and is edging closer to pre-pandemic record lows,” Gov. Ralph Northam said in a statement. “More people are working, businesses are hiring and our economy is getting even stronger as more and more Virginians receive their COVID-19 vaccines. Our administration remains focused on ensuring there is opportunity for every Virginia resident in every part of our commonwealth so we can all move forward.”

The labor force decreased by 12,422 to 4.22 million in April, with the number of unemployed Virginians decreasing by 17,097, according to data released Friday by the Virginia Employment Commission. The number of employed Virginians increased by 4,675 to 4.02 million.

The largest over-the-year job gains occurred in the leisure and hospitality sector, which gained 114,000 jobs or 52%, and the next largest gain was in trade and transportation, which went up by 67,300 jobs, or 11%. Education and health services saw a gain of 38,200 jobs, or a 7% increase. Government experienced the state’s largest year-over-year decrease in jobs, falling by 10,100 jobs in local governments and 3,400 state jobs. The federal government, however, added 2,400 jobs over the past year.

 

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