Unemployment rate drops again

Published August 17, 2018 by Veronica Garabelli

Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased in July to 3.1 percent, down a 0.6 percentage point from a year ago.

That is the commonwealth’s lowest unemployment rate since August 2007.

In July, the labor force expanded by 7,790, which was the sixth consecutive monthly increase, and at 4,356,623, set a new record high.

The number of unemployed continued to drop, declining by 4,356 to 133,348. Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate continues to be below the national rate, which was down 0.1 percentage point in July to 3.9 percent.
 
Virginia has the lowest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate among the Southeast states. Virginia has the fifth best rate among the states east of the Mississippi. The commonwealth is ranked 12th in the nation for the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate along with South Dakota and Utah.
 
Virginia’s nonfarm payroll employment is 62,600 jobs higher when compared to July of 2017. Over-the-year employment growth in Virginia has been positive for 52 consecutive months and has exceeded 1 percent the past four months. Nationally, total nonfarm employment was up 1.6 percent from a year ago.  

In July, the private sector recorded an over-the-year gain of 65,500 jobs, while employment in the public sector declined by 2,900 jobs.