THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 9, 1997 TAG: 9701090497
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LON WAGNER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 48 lines
Virginia's unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent in November, the lowest jobless level since before the 1990-91 recession, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Wednesday.
Hampton Roads' jobless rate also dropped, to 4.4 percent, half a percentage point lower than last November's 4.9 percent rate.
William F. Mezger, senior economist at the employment commission, credited retailers' adding staff for the holidays for the low rates.
``We've noticed for the last several years the retail sector seems to be hiring earlier for the holidays,'' Mezger said. ``Hampton Roads had a very good rate - there's a lot of retail activity in that area.''
The state's 3.8 percent unemployment rate has been matched twice before in the 1990s. In October, the statewide rate was 4.1 percent; in Hampton Roads it was 4.8 percent.
The November unemployment report was so good that Gov. George F. Allen's office urged the employment commission to speed up its release in time for the governor's State of the Commonwealth address Wednesday evening.
``Due to job creation of large, medium and small businesses, the number of Virginians working today is more than it's ever been in our Commonwealth's history,'' Allen said in a news release from the employment commission.
November's non-farm employment reached a new high of 3,171,300, besting October's record of 3,158,700.
The state's economy also set two other records:
Average weekly manufacturing earnings per person were $521.79. The previous record was set in September.
The length of the average workweek also posted a new high of 42.7 hours, besting the 42.6-hour mark set in September.
Holiday hiring in the trade sector meant the addition of 10,600 jobs from October to November, the employment commission said. That brought total trade sector employment up to 737,000.
Unemployment decreased in November in all five of Virginia's metropolitan areas, but some of the rural areas that are more dependent on farming did not fare as well.
On Virginia's Eastern Shore, Accomack County's unemployment rate jumped from 7.2 percent in October to 8.4 percent in November.
``Going into winter with its dependence on agriculture and fishing, Accomack County tapers off,'' Mezger said.
KEYWORDS: UNEMPLOYMENT RATE VIRGINIA