THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 9, 1996 TAG: 9603090525
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MYLENE MANGALINDAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 42 lines
The release of extra holiday workers, the loss of construction jobs and the Blizzard of '96 pushed the number of jobless people in Hampton Roads to 4.7 percent in January, state employment officials said Friday.
The number of unemployed workers locally rose to 33,410 in January from 32,370, or 4.5 percent, in December 1995.
Despite the seasonal downturn and the weather, the state still enjoyed an unemployment rate of 5 percent, the lowest January rate in six years since a 4.5 percent rate in January 1990, the Virginia Employment Commission reported.
Virginia's three largest metropolitan areas all had lower unemployment rates from a year ago, which helped keep the state average low, said William F. Mezger, senior economist at the Virginia Employment Commission. The top four metropolitan areas comprise 80 percent of the state's labor force.
``Hampton Roads was probably the least bothered by the weather,'' Mezger said.
Production hours and earnings figures were most-affected by the weather. Because of the difficulty of travel and office closings, the average workweek in Virginia was the shortest for any month in the postwar period. The average workweek in January dropped to 35 hours, 7.5 hours less than in December and 6.9 hours shorter than in January 1995.
The short workweek lowered the average weekly wage to $438.20, down $69.25. MEMO: State numbers listed/graphic, D2
UNEMPLOYMENT IN VIRGINIA
SOURCE: The Virginia Employment Commission
The Virginian-Pilot
KEYWORDS: UNEMPLOYMENT by CNB