Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 19, 1992                   TAG: 9203190113
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GEORGE KEGLEY BUSINESS EDITOR
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ROANOKE AREA ADDS JOBS; GAIN IS 2ND-HIGHEST IN VA.

The gain came largely in service, trade and government jobs and at the expense of manufacturing. Roanoke's metropolitan area had the second-highest increase in the state, after Hampton Roads's gain of 2,300 jobs and ahead of Charlottesville, which added 1,000.

The report compared employment in January with that of January 1991.

Roanoke's biggest growth were 2,400 jobs in services, which includes restaurants and hotels, and 300 in retail and wholesale trade and government. The region lost 1,100 manufacturing jobs, the VEC said. Smaller decreases were reported in textiles, finance, insurance, real estate and fabricated metals.

Bristol and Danville had flat employment over the year, while Richmond-Petersburg, Lynchburg and Northern Virginia logged losses, the VEC said. The Lynchburg area lost 800 jobs.

The state's loss of 23,100 jobs was the smallest year-to-year decline in 13 months, according to William F. Mezger, VEC research economist.

Mezger reported lower employment over the year in construction, trade, manufacturing, transportation and utilities.

On the plus side, he said, the recession seemed to be creating a need for additional workers at private social service agencies. Insurance companies and mortgage lenders added about 500 jobs.

In the Roanoke area, the gain of 1,500 jobs over the year contrasted with the loss of 1,700 jobs from December to January. Following seasonal patterns, merchants and catalog companies hired additional workers for Christmas and laid off 1,300 of them by January.

The recession and resulting layoffs raised unemployment significantly in the past year. The VEC said Roanoke's jobless increased by 2,720 in the year while the state total rose by 43,600.

In Roanoke, unemployment increased by 1,160 from December to January, almost double the 625 reported a year ago by the VEC.

In the state, January factory job losses were reported in defense, printing and products related to the auto and housing industries. Downsizing by communications companies and airlines, now in deregulated markets, accounted in part for a decrease of 1,300 jobs in transportation and utilities.

Mining lost 1,000 jobs as the result of consolidations and reduced coal demand after a second consecutive mild winter.