THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 19, 1995 TAG: 9503170207
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Annual Business Review
Cover Story
SOURCE: BY PATRICIA HUANG, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
THE CITY'S UNEMPLOYMENT rate grew to 5.2 percent in 1994, but according to William F. Mezger, a research economist with the Virginia Employment Commission, the decline in jobs says more about the economies of neighboring cities than it does about Chesapeake.
``After about mid-year, unemployment was generally lower in 1994 than in 1993,'' Mezger said. ``From the fall of 1993 to the first part of 1994, most of the increase was due to military layoffs at the Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth.''
The average jobless rate last year rose by .6 percentage points over the previous year but remained lower than unemployment rate averages since 1990.
``I would think it would continue to go lower because for one thing, the defense cuts in Hampton Roads are still going on but there haven't been any recently and as far as we can tell, there don't seem to be any substantial cuts expected soon,'' Mezger said.
Most Chesapeake residents work outside the city, which functions largely as a bedroom community, he said.
Military layoffs affect the community's overall economy only slightly.
Many Chesapeake residents also work at the Ford assembly plant in Norfolk. With new plants such as the Total Distribution Services Inc., a transportation and distribution company that delivers Ford trucks, and Johnson Controls, which manufactures Ford truck seats, more Ford-related employment is expected. The two companies together are expecting to hire nearly 200 employees.
Chesapeake's current unemployment rate dipped to 4.5 percent in January 1995, beating Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Portsmouth.
The jobless rate is also currently well under the regional rate of 5.7 percent, the state unemployment rate of 5.1 percent and the national rate at 6.2 percent. ILLUSTRATION: Chart
New Jobs
Source: Chesapeake Economic Development Dept.
For a copy, see microfilm
KEYWORDS: LAY OFFS UNEMPLOYMENT
by CNB