DATE: Saturday, November 1, 1997            TAG: 9711010730

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MICHAEL CLARK, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   49 lines

HAMPTON ROADS' RATE OF UNEMPLOYMENT DROPS THE REGION'S IS STILL HIGHER THAN STATE, NATIONAL AVERAGE.

An unemployment rate of 5.1 percent in September might be cause for concern elsewhere, but in Hampton Roads, the number does not mean trouble.

The Virginia Employment Commission's September unemployment report, released Friday, shows Hampton Roads has the highest unemployment rate among the state's five metropolitan statistical areas.

While lower than August's 5.3 percent, September's rate is higher than the state's 4.1 percent and higher than the national rate of 4.7 percent for the month.

But VEC senior economist William F. Mezger said Hampton Roads is usually 1.5 percent higher than other metropolitan areas in the state ``because of the continual move of military dependents in and out of the area.''

Subtract the 1.5 percent handicap from the September rate and Hampton Roads moves up to third place among state metropolitan statistical areas, trailing Northern Virginia's 2.6 percent and Richmond-Petersburg's 3.5 percent.

According to Mezger, ``4.5 percent is practically full employment for Hampton Roads.''

September was also the third consecutive month that the region's unemployment rate declined.

Resolution of problems at local shipyards and the food-processing industry contributed to the rate's decline from August to September, Mezger said.

In Hampton Roads and across the state, fall is a relatively good season for finding work, Mezger said.

``You've got the harvest going on, contractors trying to get projects under cover, and the retail sector is building toward its year-end peak,'' he said.

September usually has the lowest number of initial claims for unemployment benefits, Mezger said. The number of new claims in the area fell from 3,966 in August to 3,370 in September. The number of initial claims is also the lowest since before the recession in 1990, Mezger said.

Among Hampton Roads cities, Virginia Beach had the lowest unemployment rate for the month at 4.3 percent, with Chesapeake second at 4.6 percent.

Portsmouth had the highest rate at 8.3 percent, followed by Norfolk at 7.3 percent. Rates declined for all cities in the region except Newport News, which rose from 5.3 percent to 5.4 percent. Suffolk's rate was 6.5 percent.

The statewide rate of 4.1 percent is the lowest for September since 1989, when Virginia had 4.0 percent unemployment in that month. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic/The Virginian-Pilot

September Unemployment

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