ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, February 13, 1996 TAG: 9602130122
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER
note: below
WHILE THE LOW UNEMPLOYMENT RATE brought cheers from most, a local union leader says he wants to see higher salaries.
These may not be the times that give everyone a feeling of financial security, but there's reason for hope: The Roanoke metropolitan area's unemployment rate dropped last year to its lowest point in more than 20 years.
An average of 3.5 percent of the population was seeking work, the smallest share of the work force looking for jobs since current record-keeping methods began in 1974.
None of the state's four other large metro areas can make that claim, officials from the Virginia Employment Commission said Monday.
By comparison, the state as a whole posted a 4.5 percent jobless rate last year. The average for the United States was 5.6 percent.
The report was good news to economists and economic developers, but small comfort to an area union leader who said many people's expenses gobble their paycheck.
"Just from talking to people, they feel they are just getting by or do not feel they have disposable income. There is pressure just to provide food on the table," said Walter Wise, president of United Roanoke Central Labor Council, a coalition of union locals. "I don't think that a low unemployment rate is indicative of a healthy economy."
The average yearly pay for workers in Roanoke City and Salem and Roanoke and Botetourt counties stood at $22,824 in 1994, 19 percent lower than the national average for all 310 metro areas.
Economic developers have a more upbeat view. They can list employer after employer who has hired more workers, helping the region grow as a major center for medical services, shopping, transportation and other services for people throughout the western third of the state. Industries new to the area, such as mail-order merchants, have made the economy more diverse and stable. Also, the region rode out changes in financial and railroad industries, while escaping the magnitude of job losses in the national defense industry that struck Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads.
"You have had new companies coming in, like Hanover Direct. You have existing companies like Orvis and Vitramon experiencing some real general growth," said Phil Sparks, Roanoke's chief of economic development.
What's lacking, Sparks said, is more workers. If it weren't for people willing to drive 60 miles to the Roanoke Valley for work, the low jobless rate would be a serious problem, Sparks said.
Dolores Farmer, vice president of Owens & Co. Realtors in Roanoke, said she has a sense that growing numbers of people are doing well enough to make a long-term financial commitment to a house.
"We had an excellent year last year. Our sales were up," Farmer said. "We did not feel there was a lot of hesitation to buy based on people's fear of losing their jobs."
Economist John Knapp at the University of Virginia said a region's economy depends first on the strength of its job market.
Still, "the thing of importance to Joe Citizen or Mary Citizen is what am I making? What are my prospects for the future? What is the job outlook for my children? My wife? That's a legitimate way to look at things also. I don't think you can answer all questions with one statistic," Knapp said.
The best way for a person to raise his or her wages is to get more skills, Knapp said. One's skill level may be the only thing left to individual control, he said.
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: graphs and maps Unemployment Rates STAFFby CNB