State unemployment steady, local figures rise

Virginia's statewide unemployment rate remains unchanged from last month, according to a recently released report from the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC). Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in Orange County has increased slightly.
While the national unemployment rate for July, the last reported month, was 9.7 percent, according to the VEC, the Virginia seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate held steady at 7.1 percent. However, the unemployment rate is still higher than it was last July when the unemployment rate was 6.9 percent.
The number of Virginia residents drawing unemployment benefits in July was 71,400, up 3,800 from the previous month and down from 99,600 last July.
According to VEC Senior Economist Ann Lang, nonfarm employment statewide declined by 41,500 jobs to 3,632,900 in July because of the usual summer closing of schools. Several other industries also experienced job losses due to school closings. Government employment decreased by 31,100 jobs to 674,900 and private and healthcare employment decreased by 14,800 jobs to 445,200. Trade and transportation employment fell by 3,400 jobs to 614,900 and jobs in miscellaneous services declined by 1,600, to 196,100. Five hundred jobs were also lost in the construction industry and 100 jobs were lost in manufacturing.
But not all industries experienced losses in the last month. The professional and business services sector increased by 6,700 jobs to 650,100; the leisure and hospitality industry added 2,000 more workers, to 368,900; finance added 500 jobs; and 400 jobs were added in both information and mining.
Locally, the unemployment rate has increased slightly. The July unadjusted unemployment rate for Orange County was 7.8 percent, up from the June rate of 7.7 percent, according to the VEC. Out of 15,721 eligible workers in the county, 1,222 are unemployed.
According to Orange County Social Services Employment Specialist Kathy Pullen, available work in the county is sparse.
"There's still not much out there," she said. "It's a bleak market right now [and] lots of the people we see have no driver's license. We have TOOT that runs in town but it doesn't go to where the jobs are, in Fredericksburg and Charlottesville."
Pullen said social services is focusing on jobs skill training. She said the agency hopes to open some classes to the public in home health aide training and the culinary arts.
"Our focus is on partnering with local businesses to do training," she said. "We're thinking outside the box. Our dream is to have a huge amount of classes where everyone who wants to be trained can be."
She said the health field is still booming with job opportunities like it has been over the past several months. Out of the two CNA classes that have graduated locally, Pullen said most of the students have found employment within a month following graduation.
"Home health agencies are begging for employees," she said.
Orange County Social Services offers job search assistance on Mondays. Interested parties must be at the social services office by 9 a.m. to take advantage of the program. Also, those seeking employment can visit the VEC website at www.vawc.virginia.gov or call the local office in Culpeper at (540)829-7430 for assistance.
Among Virginia's 134 individual jurisdictions, Arlington County had the lowest July jobless rate at 4.2 percent. Locally, Greene County had an unemployment rate of 6.5; Madison County's was 6.7; and Culpeper was 8.3.
"Hopefully, it'll get better," Pullen said. "We keep saying that, right?"