Va.‘s jobless rate steady from February to March

The Richmond area's unemployment rate held steady at 7.8 percent from February to March.

The jobless rate, which is not seasonally adjusted, for the state remained at 7 percent for the second month in a row, according to data released yesterday by the Virginia Employment Commission.

It is the first time since September 2008 that the monthly rate has not gone up in Virginia.

"I don't think you can say yet the recession is over," said William F. Mezger, the commission's chief economist. "We didn't get too much worse in March, but then again we didn't get much better, either."

Localities across Virginia and in the Richmond area saw mixed results.

Hanover, Henrico, Charles City, Chesterfield, Goochland, New Kent and Powhatan counties saw increases in their rates. King William's rate stayed at 8.2 percent, and the rates for the remaining cities and counties in the region dropped.

Petersburg's jobless rate dropped 1.1 percentage points to 13.7 percent while Hopewell dropped to 11.1 percent, down from 12 percent.

A job fair held Tuesday at Fort Lee, which is sandwiched between the two cities, shows that people continue to look en masse.

More than 4,000 people -- from nearby cities to as far away as Georgia -- showed up for a chance for face time with 43 employers, said Carmen M. Rohena Pastrana, transition services manager for the Army Career and Alumni Program.

Last year, 1,700 people attended the event.

This year, they had to turn people away from the gate because the crowd was overwhelming, she said. The fair was open to military personnel who were retiring or getting out of the service and their spouses. The general public also could attend.

"The need is out there for everybody to get a job," she said.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, Virginia's unemployment rate increased 0.2 percentage points to 6.8 percent in March from February.

Seasonally adjusting the rate allows for similar comparisons to other times of the year and makes it easier to spot trends. In March and April, however, the adjustment can be misleading depending on when Easter falls, which can be in either month, Mezger said.

Holiday tourism and retail hiring tend to lower the jobless rate. This year, Easter came in April, as opposed to March in 2008, Mezger said.

Contact Emily C. Dooley at (804) 649-6016 or .