Jobless rates fall in all Virginia metro areas

Published November 1, 2017 by Robert Powell, III

Unemployment dropped in Virginia’s metro areas during September, with jobless rates falling below 4 percent in nine of 11 urban regions.

The Virginia Employment Commission reported on Wednesday that unemployment decreased in all of the commonwealth’s metropolitan areas during the month as the statewide rate fell from 3.8 to 3.6 percent.

The numbers in the VEC report are not seasonally adjusted, meaning they do not reflect seasonal fluctuations in the labor force.

The increases ranged from one-tenth of a percentage point in the Winchester and Staunton-Waynesboro areas to four-tenths of a point in the New River Valley, Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, Lynchburg and Roanoke areas.

Only the Hampton Roads and Lynchburg regions had jobless rates above 4 percent. Northern Virginia continued to be the region with the lowest rate, 3 percent.

A breakdown of the numbers shows:

Bristol: 3.9 percent in September, down from 4.1 percent in August.
Charlottesville: 3.1 percent, down from 3.5 percent.
Hampton Roads: 4.1 percent, down from 4.3 percent.
Harrisonburg: 3.5 percent, down from 3.9 percent.
Lynchburg: 4.2 percent, down from 4.6 percent.
New River Valley: 3.8 percent, down from 4.2 percent.
Northern Virginia: 3 percent, down from 3.2 percent.
Richmond: percent, 3.8 down from 4 percent.
Roanoke: percent, 3.6 down from 4 percent.
Staunton-Waynesboro: 3.4 percent, down from 3.5 percent.
Winchester: 3.2 percent, down from 3.3 percent.