ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Friday, April 26, 1996                 TAG: 9604260043
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: B-7  EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER 

TRADE ADDS 1,100 JOBS, LEADS ROANOKE IN GAINS

The Roanoke metropolitan area gained 2,100 jobs in the 12 months ended in February, the Virginia Employment Commission said Thursday.

The greatest increase was in trade, a sector that includes retail clerks and grew by 1,100 positions. Government employment grew by 600 jobs, and the financial industry boosted payrolls by 300.

The jobless rate stood at 2.8 percent in February in the Roanoke metro area, which consists of Roanoke, Salem and Botetourt and Roanoke counties, the VEC reported earlier. The low rate and employment growth indicate the economy is strong, said William Mezger, senior VEC analyst.

Mezger said the severe winter weather prevented some people from working and skewed the statistics in Thursday's report downward, which means employment growth may appear even more robust when the March report is released in about a month.

The state gained the most new jobs in the service industry, which added 21,700 positions in "high-wage/high-tech" categories such as computer and business consulting and engineering, bringing the total to 434,200.

The state's mining industry was the biggest loser, dropping 1,200 jobs between this and last February and lowering total mining employment to 10,400.

LENGTH: Short :   33 lines
ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC:  Chart by staff: Employment in Virginia Metro areas.