Unemployment dipped slightly in May

Date published: 6/29/2007

BY KAFIA HOSH

The Jamestown commemoration and late university commencements drove down local jobless rates in May, according to figures released Wednesday by the Virginia Employment Commission.

The Jamestown celebrations last month gave an early start to the tourism season, which boosted employment.

"May is not normally a particularly big tourism month in Virginia, but the tourism industry hired earlier than usual," said William F. Mezger, chief economist for the VEC in Richmond.

And unemployment data were collected before most university commencements--before job-seeking college students could flood the labor market.

"It held down unemployment because the students were still finishing up their classes," Mezger said.

Fredericksburg's rate stayed the same, at 4.1 percent, in May. It was 3.5 percent at the same time last year.

Stafford County's jobless figure dropped to 2.4 percent.

Spotsylvania County's rate also fell, to 2.3 percent.

Both counties boasted a 2.2 percent unemployment rate in May 2006.

Higher jobless figures in the region this year are due to the slow home-building market, according to Mezger.

"That is probably construction workers, who last year were working in home-building, and not quite as many of them are working this year," he said.

Overall, the state's unemployment rate decreased slightly, to 2.8 percent.

Among Virginia's 134 localities, Greene and Arlington counties posted the lowest jobless rates, at 1.8 percent.

The city of Martinsville had the highest unemployment figure, 7.7 percent.

Mezger expects the jobless rate to go back up in June.

"In June you have the college students that haven't gotten hired by that time," he said. "You also have all of the high school students coming in at one time."

Locality May '07 April '07 May '06 Fredericksburg 4.1% 4.1% 3.5% Stafford 2.4% 2.5% 2.2% Spotsylvania 2.3% 2.4% 2.2% Caroline 3.3% 3.4% 3.2% King George 2.8% 2.9% 2.9% Westmoreland 4.0% 4.2% 3.5% Orange 2.9% 3.0% 2.7% Fauquier 2.3% 2.5% 2.3% Culpeper 3.4% 3.4% 2.8% --Virginia Employment Commission

Date published: 6/29/2007