THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 9, 1996 TAG: 9607090338
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LON WAGNER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 32 lines
Virginia is so job-rich that Hampton Roads and other parts of the state are approaching what economists call ``full employment.''
The number of people working in Virginia hit an all-time high of 3.1 million in May, and the state's unemployment rate recorded its lowest May level in six years, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Monday.
Hampton Roads' 4.7 percent unemployment rate for the month bested last May's 4.8 percent rate.
Full employment in Hampton Roads would be about a 4 percent unemployment rate, said William F. Mezger, senior economist for the VEC. It's a term used to account for the idea that a certain number of people will always be jumping from one job to another, Mezger said.
``You're approaching pretty close to full employment for that area,'' he said, ``because you're always going to have military dependents who have come to that area and are looking for work.''
The May state unemployment rate of 4.2 percent was higher than April's 3.8 percent, but the rate typically jumps in May as colleges let out and students enter the labor force, Mezger said.
That trend extended throughout Virginia as all but one of the state's metropolitan areas saw their unemployment rates rise from April to May. Roanoke's rate remained at 2.6 percent.
Summer tourism jobs helped push the state to record employment. Tourism added 8,800 jobs in the service sector, Virginia's largest employment category. Service-sector jobs grew to 905,100, topping 900,000 for the first time. by CNB