Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
P. O. Box 3711
204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
276-638-8801
Toll Free: 800-234-6575
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
By MICKEY POWELL - Bulletin Staff Writer
Martinsville continued to have the state’s highest unemployment in May, with Henry County not far behind, according to the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC).
Bill Mezger, chief economist for the VEC’s Economic Information Services Division, attributed the increases mainly to students seeking work after graduating from college or coming home for summer break.
Martinsville’s jobless rate jumped from 20 percent in April to 21.9 percent in May. The number of unemployed workers in the city increased from 1,286 in April to 1,432 in May, VEC statistics show.
Henry County’s unemployment rate increased from 14.2 percent in April to 15.2 percent in May. The number of people in the county seeking jobs rose from 3,816 in April to 4,093 in May, figures show.
Among 134 localities statewide in which the VEC measures unemployment each month, Henry County ranks second, Mezger said.
Generally, local unemployment rates across Virginia “go up in May when people leave colleges,” said Mezger. If they lack jobs when they graduate, students usually will go back home and seek work, causing jobless rates in their hometowns to increase, he said.
“I don’t have anything” on record showing there were any major furloughs or layoffs among industries in Henry County and Martinsville in May, Mezger said, surmising that the jobless rate jumps stemmed from returning students.
The combined jobless rate for the Henry County-Martinsville micropolitan area rose from 15.3 percent in April to 16.5 percent in May, Mezger said.
In the county and city, the total number of employed people dropped from 28,225 in April to 28,039 in May, statistics show.
Meanwhile, the county-city labor force — the total number of people either employed or looking for work — increased from 33,327 in April to 33,564 in May, figures show.
Mezger said the increase in the labor force probably is due to local residents who worked outside the community losing their jobs and beginning to look for new jobs here.
Patrick County ranks sixth statewide in terms of joblessness. Its unemployment rate rose from 11.9 percent in April to 12.6 percent in May, and the number of people seeking jobs increased from 1,156 to 1,252, the VEC reported.
As with Henry County and Martinsville, Mezger attributed Patrick County’s spike in unemployment mostly to college students seeking jobs.
He predicted that high school students seeking jobs this summer will cause local jobless rates statewide to increase in June. The VEC will release figures for June either late this month or early in August.
Due to the recession, “this is probably the worst summer job market in about 30 years,” Mezger said.
Fewer temporary jobs are available this summer, and students are having to compete with older workers who have been laid off from previous jobs and have more experience, he said.
Virginia’s statewide unemployment rate rose from 6.6 percent in April to 7 percent in May, statistics show.
The VEC attributed the increase mostly to college students entering the job market and production of motor vehicles being suspended for the rest of the 2009 model year, resulting in layoffs at Virginia firms that make vehicle parts.
Twenty-four localities saw double-digit unemployment in May. The VEC said that most of those localities, like Martinsville and Henry and Patrick counties, are along the North Carolina line.
Danville continued to have the highest unemployment rate in May among metropolitan areas. Its rate rose from 12.4 percent in April to 13 percent, and it ranks third in terms of unemployment, VEC figures show.
Arlington County had the state’s lowest jobless rate in May at 4.5 percent, figures show.
The VEC considers localities to have full employment if their jobless rates are 5 percent or less. Arlington County, Fairfax County and Poquoson were the only localities in May that met the criteria. |
| |
|
|
.jpg)
.jpg)
