Virginia lost 47,800 jobs last month, underscoring the slow and uncertain economy in the state and across the nation.
Seven of 11 major industry sectors lost jobs, pushing up the state unemployment rate to 6.1 percent in July from 6.0 percent in June, according to a report released Friday by the Virginia Employment Commission.
"Overall, the report depicts an economy that continues to struggle," said Christine Chmura of Chmura Economics & Analytics in Richmond. "This is a slow recovery. Most major sectors contracted in July."
The slight bump in the seasonally adjusted rate is the first increase in Virginia since the peak rate of 7.2 percent in February 2010.
The state rate was better than it was in the same month a year ago, when it was 6.8 percent, and remains lower than the national rate, which fell 0.1 percentage point in July to 9.1 percent.
"The good news is our unemployment rate is 3 percentage points below the nation, but that is not encouraging for people who can't find jobs in our state," Chmura said.
"Even though the rate rose slightly in July, the number of people working contracted for the second month in a row," she said. "We are still seeing an increase in the number of people dropping out of the labor market because they can't find jobs."
Ann D. Lang, a senior economist with the Employment Commission, warned not to read too much into last month's increase because the change was slight and subject to revision.
"It's not that measurable a difference," she said.
Virginia was one of 40 states that did not record statistically significant changes in the jobless rate, she said.
"We're just in a period of such uncertainty with everything going on in the economy," Lang said.
Unemployment increased in 28 states, fell in nine and remained unchanged in 13. Virginia tied for the ninth-lowest rate, with Hawaii. North Dakota had the lowest rate at 3.3 percent. Nevada recorded the highest at 12.9 percent.
The number of Virginians receiving unemployment benefit payments was 55,195 in July, up from 55,022 in June but down from 72,493 in July 2010.
Nonfarm payroll employment, not seasonally adjusted, was 3.6 million in July in Virginia, the commission reported.
From June to July, seven major industries lost jobs, according to the report:
- Construction employment lost 900 jobs in July. It also saw the largest year-over-year decline, losing 6,800 jobs in the one-year period, or down 3.6 percent.
- The information sector lost 200 jobs. That sector lost 3,600 jobs from a year ago.
- Miscellaneous services lost 900 jobs last month and 1,200 in the past year.
- Government employment, not seasonally adjusted, fell by 33,100 jobs in July.
- Private education and health-care employment fell by 15,100 jobs, mainly because of seasonal losses as schools closed for the summer.
- Manufacturing employment declined by 1,300 jobs.
- Professional and business services employment fell by 1,000 jobs.
Four sectors recorded gains: finance, which gained 2,100 jobs; leisure and hospitality, up 1,000 workers; trade and transportation added 900 jobs; and mining gained 100.
Virginia's 185,000 manufacturing production workers earned an average weekly wage of $740.40 in July, $13.95 less than in the June weekly wage and $46.22 less than July 2010.
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