Unemployment rates rise again in Virginia metro areas

Published July 30, 2014 by Robert Powell, III

Unemployment rates in Virginia’s largest metro areas continued to rise in June.

Figures released Wednesday by the Virginia Employment Commission showed jobless rates in the commonwealth’s 11 metro areas increased from one tenth to six tenths of a percentage point last month.

The pace of unemployment growth was slower than seen in May when the increases ranged from half a percentage point to 1.3 percentage points.

Northern Virginia had the lowest unemployment rate, 4.5 percent, while the Danville area had the highest rate, 7.8 percent.

The VEC numbers are “not seasonally adjusted,” meaning they do not take into account seasonal fluctuations in the labor market.

The unadjusted employment rate for Virginia was 5.4 percent, up from 5.3 percent in May.

The more widely used seasonally adjusted jobless rate for the commonwealth in June was 5.3 percent, the second consecutive increase after falling to 4.9 percent in April.

A rundown on the metro jobless rates shows:

Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford: 6.2 percent, up from 5.8 percent in May.
Bristol: 6.9 percent, up from 6.3 percent.
Charlottesville: 4.9 percent, up from 4.6 percent.
Danville: 7.8 percent, up from 7.7 percent.
Hampton Roads: 5.9 percent, up from 5.8 percent.
Harrisonsburg: 5.6 percent, up from 5.3 percent.
Lynchburg: 6.4 percent, up from 6.2 percent.
Northern Virginia: 4.5 percent, up from 4.4 percent.
Richmond: 5.7 percent, up from 5.6 percent.
Roanoke: 5.7 percent, up from 5.5 percent.
Winchester: 4.8 percent, up from 4.7 percent.