Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 2, 1994 TAG: 9411020056
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Virginia Employment Commission on Tuesday released statistics it gathered in August, showing the region's employment grew by 4.9 percent over August 1993, with 135,700 people at work.
It was the third consecutive month that the Roanoke Valley was the state's job growth leader on a percentage basis.
Much of the Roanoke region's recent job growth has been centered in services, an employment sector that grew by 3,100 jobs, or 8.7 percent, since August 1993, the VEC said.
The commission said the Roanoke area is the primary provider of business, engineering and health services for the western third of Virginia.
The valley also registered healthy annual increases of 2,000 jobs in the wholesale and retail trade sector, 600 in manufacturing and 500 in construction.
Virginia had more than 3 million people at work in August, an increase of 85,000 or 2.9 percent higher than in August 1993.
All eight Virginia metropolitan areas experienced annual job growth between August 1993 and August 1994.
The services sector, with 850,100 workers, once again was the growth leader with an annual increase of 5.1 percent. Those jobs accounted for 48.8 percent of the August increase. What kept services the job growth leader was such high-skill, high-wage service subsections as business services, engineering and management services, health services, private social services, private schools and colleges and tourist-related establishments.
Trade employment, at 681,100, was 4 percent above August 1993. Trade subsectors with the largest gains were wholesalers, restaurants, general merchandise retailers, department stores, auto dealers, grocery stores, clothing stores and furniture stores.
Low interest rates at the beginning of the year still were generating employment activity in finance-insurance-real estate and in construction. The August construction level of 167,400 was the best monthly construction figure in 44 months, since December 1990.
Total government employment was 0.8 percent higher than last year. Most of the gain was in local school systems as the federal civilian employment subsector declined due to defense reductions.
Transportation and utilities had gains centered in trucking lines and the ports.
The commission said only manufacturing and mining registered negative annual employment.
August's factory employment was 0.8 percent below last year because of defense reductions in transportation equipment and downsizing in tobacco and textiles. Mine employment was down 1.7 percent over the year to 11,800.
Public and private schools, out of session for the summer, reached the year's low in the newly released report.
by CNB