DATE: Saturday, May 3, 1997                 TAG: 9705030474

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LON WAGNER, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   49 lines

AREA JOB RATE UP, STATE DOWN

Hampton Roads had 25,400 more jobs this March than last year at this time, according to the Virginia Employment Commission. But the region's jobless rate rose slightly because of layoffs in the shipbuilding industry.

The state's unemployment rate went in the other direction, falling to 4 percent in March, its lowest rate for that month in seven years, the VEC reported Friday.

The jobless rate in Hampton Roads increased from 4.4 percent last March to 4.6 percent this year. VEC Senior Economist William F. Mezger said the increase was largely because of the shipbuilding layoffs.

Norfolk shipyard Metro Machine Corp. laid off more than 400 workers in March. Those workers showed up immediately in figures for first-time unemployment claims: Initial unemployment claims in Hampton Roads jumped 567 from last March to 4,725.

``Of course, those people are probably dispersed over several areas,'' Mezger said.

In fact, unemployment from March 1996 to this March rose in Norfolk from 6 percent to 6.6 percent, in Portsmouth from 6.6 percent to 7.3 percent, in Virginia Beach from 3.5 percent to 3.9 percent, and in Chesapeake one-tenth to 3.5 percent.

Shipbuilding aside, the Hampton Roads employment picture looks rosy, Mezger said. Jobs are being created in this region at about a 4 percent rate, compared with a 2.9 percent growth rate across Virginia, the VEC reported.

Hampton Roads added an estimated 25,400 jobs from March 1996 to March 1997. Jobs are being created faster in Hampton Roads than anywhere else in Virginia, with the exception of Northern Virginia. That boosts the statewide figures, since Hampton Roads accounts for about one in five jobs in Virginia.

March's employment picture received a boost with the mild weather and an early Easter. The retail trade sector added 6,600 jobs statewide. Contractors got back to work several weeks early and added 4,700 jobs to bring construction employment to a seven-year high of 177,000.

The state's 301,900 production workers earned an average weekly wage of $520.38 in March, up $11.15 from February. They worked more hours to make more money: The average length of the production workweek rose from 41.3 hours in February to 42 hours.

Next month's unemployment report could show an even better economy, Mezger said.

``April is usually the best month in the first half of the year,'' he said, ``Seasonal activities are back in full swing and the students haven't come back into the job picture.'' KEYWORDS: JOBLESS RATE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

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