Virginia’s jobless rate remained steady from March to April, but economists say it’s too early to celebrate the end of the recession. While the nation’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose 0.4 percentage points to 8.9 percent in April, Virginia’s stayed at 6.8 percent, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Even though the unemployment rate was unchanged in Virginia, the underlying numbers show that the economy is still contracting,“ said Christine Chmura of Chmura Economics & Analytics in Richmond. “We still have 4,000 more people unemployed.“

Virginia’s unemployment rate continued to rise in February, as did the jobless rate for the rest of the country, according to new figures released yesterday. As the recession deepened and layoffs continued, the jobless rate in the state jumped to 6.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in February from 6 percent in January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.