Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 30, 1994 TAG: 9405020152
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Roanoke Valley unemployment rate dropped to 3.9 percent of the work force compared with 4.7 percent a year earlier, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Friday. The agency said 1,000 more area people held jobs in March compared to the February employment rolls.
Most of the job increases came in the service industries, especially business services and in tourism as traveling picked up along Interstate 81, said William F. Mezger, the VEC's senior economist. The improved weather boosted construction employment by about 200 jobs.
Mezger said last year's high rates were caused by closing of the Gardner-Denver Mining and Construction Division's rock drill plant and layoffs at ITT Corp.'s night-vision devices factory. "We didn't have that this year," he said.
This was the best March rate recorded in four years since a 3.8 percent jobless level in March 1990.
Nonagricultural employment increased 27,500 in March to 2.95 million as the weather improved markedly and spring activities began in the state's tourism and construction industries.
The average manufacturing workweek bounced back from February's 38.3 hours to 41.7 hours in March, an improvement of 3.4 hours. The workweek was 2.1 hours longer than that of March 1993.
All of the state's metropolitan areas and most individual jurisdictions experienced inproved employment rates in March. Lancaster County, at 22.7 percent, had the state's highest unemployment rate.
Total employment surged by 38,500 jobs in March to 3.2 million, and the state's labor force only grew by 14,100 workers to 3.38 million. Unemployment, therefore, fell by 24,400 to 163,000 people out of work.
In the Roanoke Valley, 132,600 people were working, up 0.8 percent from 131,600 in February and up 4.2 percent from 127,300 a year earlier.
by CNB