Jobless rate rises statewide
Dean Hoffmeyer / Times-Dispatch
Charles Cook uses his cell phone outside the Virginia Employment Commission office in Mechanicsville.
Published: January 7, 2009
Updated: January 7, 2009
Charles Cook, 45, never has filed for unemployment benefits before, but hard times started in November.
Two weeks before Thanksgiving, he lost his job as a body technician at an automotive-repair shop.
Then his girlfriend's hours were reduced. They cut costs, but it wasn't enough.
"This is probably the worst I've ever seen it," the Hanover County resident said yesterday outside a Virginia Employment Commission center while he waited to meet with a state worker about his benefits. "I'm ready to pull my hair out."
The waiting area was full. The lobby had a steady stream of customers. And it's not likely to get better soon.
The statewide unemployment rate rose to 4.6 percent in November, the latest figures available, up 0.4 percentage point from October.
According to commission data released yesterday, 17,761 more people were unemployed in November than October, for a statewide total of 190,847.
In the Richmond area, the jump in the jobless rate was more dramatic, rising from 4.5 percent to 5 percent.
An additional 3,403 people in the Richmond area filed for unemployment during November, for a total of 32,331.
Furloughed workers from manufacturing plants and people applying for, but not yet securing, seasonal employment helped drive the numbers statewide and locally, said William F. Mezger, the employment commission's chief economist.
The layoffs of more than 700 people from the Henrico County companies Circuit City Stores Inc. and LandAmerica Financial Group contributed to the increase locally, Mezger said.
More are on the way.
Memory-chip maker Qimonda AG is idling one of two plants at its facility in eastern Henrico, and 1,200 people will be out of work by March. A first wave of layoffs came last month, spokesman Glen Haley said.
"I think you could probably say at this point, Richmond has gone into a recession," Mezger said.
In recent weeks, commission offices, phones and the Web site have been inundated with people seeking claims, officials have said. The commission has opened benefits centers on Saturdays, promoted its Web site as the fastest way to make claims, and implemented a plan to reduce a clogged hot line, based on whether Social Security numbers end with an odd or even number.
The state agency also is hiring 30 to 40 temporary staff members to help with the backlog, spokeswoman Joyce G. Fogg said.
Yesterday, Cook had been at the Mechanicsville office for 90 minutes. Others told him they had been waiting hours. "You do what you have to do," he said. "Believe me, I don't want to be here."
Despite the November increase in joblessness, Richmond was faring relatively well. The metro area is tied with Boston and Birmingham, Ala., for the fifth-lowest jobless rate, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
"There are some areas around the country that haven't been hit so bad, and I still think Richmond is one of those," said Gregory H. Wingfield, president of Greater Richmond Partnership, an economic-development agency.
Contact Emily C. Dooley at (804) 649-6016 or
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Reader Reactions
Va and other states should look at the help we are giving people that are here illegally or ones that just want to take advantage of the system, what happens when people really need help and the resources arent there for them to utilize? Our bail out bailed out the wrong people, we needed to be bailed out to put the money back in the economy, pay our bills, our jobs have been lost, hours cut, and we bail out the banks? The automakers and the vast majority of us cant afford to buy the $30,000 base model american made car they are producing, something is wrong with this picture.
The thing we’re not hearing about yet is a real economic plan. Our system is broken and has been for a long time. We’ve been a borrow and spend economy with massive, unsustainable trade deficits. “Protectionism” has become a dirty word because it doesn’t protect the open ended profits of corporations (but does protect jobs which pay living wages in this country). Don’t let the economists in their ivory towers tell you that protectionism is wrong. After all look at where they got us today. We’re literally on the brink of economic collapse. We need a plan that involves more than borrowing money and injecting it into a broken system. We need a new system.
While I agree the government should do a better job of keeping tabs on H1B visa holders, it’s the government so I don’t really see that happening anytime soon. That said, these visa holders are often very highly educated and are by no means cheap labor. Many times, when the economy turns south like it has now, these visa holders are among the first to be let go. Corporations pay for these visas and see that as an expense that can be done away with. It’s a hard time for many people these days, H1B visa holders included.
Many people don’t realize that there are many thousands of foreign workers in the U.S., many of which are in the Richmond area. They work here legally on H1B visas which are handed out in abundance. Our government has even lost track of the total number of these workers. These are nice people but this practice is eroding our economy. These visas are popular with corporations because they are a source of quick, cheap labor. Our corporations run Washington, hence very few politicians are speaking out.
Politicians should be required to spend one day - just one - at places like the VEC offices. Politicians are not entirely responsible for the economic troubles, but they have sat on their hands (and wallets) while they watched it all go to h… in a handbasket. Part of their job is to watch out for the people that elect them. It seems to me they’ve spent lots more time and effort looking out for people padding their bank accounts and campaign chests.
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