Virginia's seasonally adjusted jobless rate increased by 0.3 percentage points to 7.1 percent in May.
But the unemployment rate was 3.8 percent in May 2008, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics report released this morning.
Virginia joined 47 others and the District of Columbia that saw an increase in the unemployment rate last month from April, the report showed.
Only one state, Nebraska, saw a decrease, going from 4.5 percent jobless rate in April to 4.4 percent in May.
At 7.3 percent, Vermont was the only state where the jobless rate did not change.
Nationally, the unemployment rate increased by 0.5 percentage points to 9.4 percent in May from April.
Virginia's increase in the jobless rate is like many other states in that the jump can be attributable to a growing number of college graduates entering the workforce, as well as furloughs and layoffs following reductions in automobile production, said William F. Mezger, chief economist at the Virginia Employment Commission.
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