DATE: Friday, August 1, 1997                TAG: 9708010747

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MICHAEL CLARK, STAFF WRITER 
                                            LENGTH:   47 lines

VIRGINIA'S JOBLESS RATE LOWER THAN A YEAR AGO BUT IN HAMPTON ROADS, UNEMPLOYMENT RISES TO 6.1% FROM 5.3% IN MAY.

June unemployment statistics released Thursday by the Virginia Employment Commission offered one bright spot, but mostly bad news, for the state of Virginia and Hampton Roads.

The lone highlight is the slight decline in Virginia unemployment, from 4.9 percent in June 1996 to 4.7 percent last June - the lowest June total since 1990, but still higher than May's 4.2 percent.

Hampton Roads unemployment rose to 6.1 percent in June, up from 5.3 percent in May this year and 5.6 percent in June 1996.

Where the return of college students to the work force tends to lower May unemployment rates, higher numbers in June can be attributed to high school students' arrival in the job market, said William F. Mezger, senior economist at the VEC.

``About 60,000 students come into the labor force in Virginia in about six weeks,'' Mezger said. ``Most find work by mid-July, or stop looking.''

Mezger estimates that Hampton Roads has 15,000 college and high school students looking for work.

Few students file for unemployment, but while they're actively looking for work, the VEC and the U.S. Department of Labor count them in their surveys.

The number of initial unemployment claims in Hampton Roads rose in June, too, totaling 4,585 - up from 4,264 for May, and 4,443 in June 1996.

Among Hampton Roads cities, Virginia Beach had the lowest unemployment rate in June (5 percent), while Portsmouth had the highest (10 percent).

Rates for all cities in the area exceeded May totals, and all but Suffolk had higher rates than in June 1996.

The lingering impact of layoffs at Hampton Roads shipyards caused June numbers to rise, too, Mezger said.

``Hampton Roads had a couple of layoffs, some in Newport News that were the continuation of what has gone before,'' Mezger said.

More layoffs in Norfolk shipyards also brought the numbers up, as did early forced vacations, or furloughs, for food industry workers in Suffolk.

``Plants will shut down for portions of a vacation period,'' Mezger said. ``Some will pay (workers) for one week and not the other, or they will pay for seniority.''

Workers who don't receive pay can file for unemployment.

The bulk of furloughs usually comes in the first two weeks of July, which will have a bigger impact on July unemployment figures. KEYWORDS: STATISTICS UNEMPLOYMENT JOBLESS ECONOMY

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