They boost the jobless rate when schools’ summer vacations start, and again a few weeks after their college terms start. Returning college students looking for work for a few extra bucks boosted the local unemployment rate slightly last month. But some, evidently, may have found work. The Virginia Employment Commission yesterday reported that the number of people working in metropolitan Richmond rose by 1,300 to 607,900—even as the number of people looking for work, the official definition of the unemployed, also rose. That number was up by 260, to 49,760.

The Virginia Employment Commission reported the seasonally unadjusted rate fell from 6.9 percent in July to 6.5 percent in August. It is the second consecutive month that the rate has declined.

The Richmond region’s jobless rate decreased in July along with most other metro areas across the state. The local unemployment rate dropped 0.3 percentage points to 8 percent in July from June, according to the Virginia Employment Commission. “We’re maybe sort of bumping along on the bottom of the recession,“ said William F. Mezger, the commission’s chief economist. “We don’t seem to be getting much worse, but we don’t seem to be getting much better.“

The ailing economy appears to be fueling an increased interest in public-safety jobs in the Richmond area, including among people who were laid off from positions in other fields.

Students entering an already-clogged job market and cuts in the automotive industry propelled Virginia’s jobless rate up 0.3 percentage points to 7.3 percent in June, the Virginia Employment Commission reported yesterday. A year ago, Virginia’s unemployment rate was 4 percent. The seasonally unadjusted rate is lower than the national average, which is 9.7 percent, according to data released yesterday.

Few so-called life events prove as disorienting and as disheartening as a layoff. A pink slip delivers a body blow. For many dismissed employees, severance packages and assistance from human resources departments ease the pain. Others are not so fortunate. Government programs try to help. A Friday RT-D First story reported frustrations regarding jobless benefits. According to staff writer Emily Dooley: “A program for thousands of unemployed workers eligible for additional federal benefits has been hampered by complicated regulations, low staffing levels, and processing backlogs at the Virginia Employment Commission and locally operated work-force centers.“

During his 18 years as Lynchburg city attorney, William Mervin Phillips was especially proud of his role in protecting the voting strength of the city’s minorities when parts of Bedford and Campbell counties were annexed in 1976. “Dad always was a vigorous proponent of civil rights,“ said his son, William E. Phillips of Lynchburg. “He was proud of everybody sitting together and working out a method of electing city council that worked well and complied with the requirements of the Justice Department.“

A program for thousands of unemployed workers eligible for additional federal benefits has been hampered by complicated regulations, low staffing levels, and processing backlogs at the Virginia Employment Commission and locally operated work-force centers. Many of the unemployed worked for memory-chip maker Qimonda, which in February announced it was closing its eastern Henrico County plant. The company did not provide severance, failed to issue many final paychecks, and cut health benefits.

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.“

2009: $95
  2010: $165
  2011: $222
  2012: $252
  2013: $237
  2014: $207
  2015: $151

The unemployment insurance trust fund that pays jobless benefits in Virginia will get $62.8 million in federal stimulus money, the U.S. Department of Labor announced yesterday. “These funds will provide critical relief to thousands of Virginia’s displaced workers as we continue efforts to get our economy back on track,“ Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said in a statement.

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.

Virginia’s jobless rate rose again in March, but the pace last month wasn’t as rapid as it had been in previous months. Last month’s rate stood at 6.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, up from 6.6 in February, 6 percent in January and 5 percent in December, according to a U.S. Labor Department report on state unemployment released yesterday.

As the state announced a 1 percentage-point jump yesterday in the Richmond region’s jobless rate to 7.9 percent, another major layoff began to hit the area. Wachovia Securities laid off 500 employees as the single biggest chunk of job losses from the ongoing merger with A.G. Edwards.

As the number of jobless people in the Richmond area has increased, the Virginia Employment Commission has been handling a larger number of people filing for unemployment benefits. The VEC opened a satellite office yesterday in Chesterfield County to accommodate some of that increased volume.