Richmond-area jobless rate rises to 8.1 percent

More people in all 10 metropolitan areas in Virginia were unemployed in May than in April, according to a report on joblessness released yesterday.

The jobless rate in the Richmond area rose to 8.1 percent in May from 7.5 percent in April, more than double what it was a year ago, according to the Virginia Employment Commission.

Seven cities in Virginia, including Richmond, Hopewell, Petersburg and Williamsburg, had double-digit unemployment rates in May.

Richmond's rate of 10.2 percent is the highest since 1992, when unemployment in the city hit 10.9 percent in June of that year, said William F. Mezger, chief economist for the commission.

"Central cities always run higher than the counties," Mezger said. "When unemployment is up everywhere, usually the cities are the highest."

The Richmond region was hit particularly hard in the past year, with the loss of 21,000 jobs, the highest job loss in the state, as major employers such as Circuit City Stores Inc., LandAmerica Financial Group and Qimonda closed operations.

The area's jobless rate was better than the U.S. rate of 9.1 percent in May but worse than the overall state rate of 7 percent.

Mezger said the state's higher unemployment rate in May can be attributed to:

• layoffs resulting from suspensions in vehicle production; and

• college graduates seeking work in the worst summer labor market since the early 1980s.

Recent graduates are competing for summer jobs with people who have lost permanent employment, he said. "There are fewer jobs with more people applying for them," he said.

In perspective, this recession is the longest since the Great Depression, as it goes into its 20th month today. Previous recessions in 1973-75 and 1981-82 were 16 months each, but unemployment was worse.

In 1981-82, for instance, the national jobless rate hit 10.8 percent. Virginia's rate rose to 8 percent, a full percentage point higher than it is now.

"In this recession, construction, manufacturing, finance and the vehicle industries were devastated, but health care and higher education are still growing," Mezger said.

"Fortunately for Virginia, health care and higher education are big blocks of employment," he said. Moreover, "stimulus monies are starting to get into the economy with growth in employment in the federal government."

Christine Chmura of Chmura Economics & Analytics in Richmond said she expects the recession to end early next year.

However, employment gains most likely will not be seen until midyear, Chmura said. "As the economy starts to grow and demand for services and goods rise, employers encourage their current work forces to work harder until they are more certain the economy will continue to expand," she said.

Northern Virginia, the state's largest metro area, had the lowest jobless rate at 5.3 percent in May, up from 5 percent in April.

Danville, the smallest metro area, had the highest unemployment rate, rising to 13 percent in May from 12.4 percent in April.

Contact Carol Hazard at (804) 775-8023 or .