ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 3, 1996 TAG: 9604030028
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER
Come rain or hail or sleet or snow, Virginia's job supply continues to grow.
The state's economy turned in another report of strong performance Tuesday, as labor analysts reported a 0.5 percent increase in employment between between January 1995 and January 1996.
The Virginia Employment Commission had reason to expect the job supply to shrink, because January's snowstorm froze operations at many businesses the same week analysts were scheduled to perform their monthly count of jobs.
The survey took place. But under state rules, the jobs in offices or plants closed due to the snow could not be counted, suggesting a downturn in statistical measures for January would follow.
Despite that, employers created enough jobs for the state to post another increase, "an indication of the present strength and diversification of the Virginia economy," said William Mezger, senior economist at the VEC.
The snowstorm buried the Roanoke region, however, causing the official count of jobs to drop 0.1 percent from January 1995 to January 1996. Mezger has said he believed a rebound occurred in February, but he won't have a report until later this month.
LENGTH: Short : 32 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: chart - Employment in Virgiina Metro Areas. STAFFby CNB