Virginia manufacturing jobs rose 1 percent last year

Published February 7, 2014 by Jessica Sabbath

Virginia’s manufacturing employment rose 1 percent last year, according to an industrial directory of Manufacturers’ News Inc.

The 2014 Virginia Manufacturers Directory reports that Virginia employers added 3,001 jobs between November 2012 and the same month last year, an increase of about 1 percent.

The report says that Virginia has 6,346 manufacturers employing 332,789 workers.

“With its educated workforce and access to capital, manufacturers in Virginia continue to make gains, particularly in the transportation sector,” Tom Dubin, president of Manufacturing News, said in a statement.

Employment in the transportation equipment industry was highest for the commonwealth among industrial jobs. Job growth in the industry rose 14 percent in Virginia last year.

Newport News is the state’s top city for manufacturing employment, with 28,228 jobs, up 11 percent on a year-to-year basis. Richmond ranks second with 27,621 jobs, down 1.5 percent form last year.

Roanoke has 10,553 industrial jobs, which was up 0.5 percent, according to the report. Lynchburg accounts for 10,001 industrial jobs, up 1 percent over the past 12 months.