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Jessica Sabbath// July 19, 2013//
Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose two-tenths of a percentage point in June to 5.5 percent.
June marked the second consecutive increase in the jobless rate.
In May, the jobless rate rose because of an increase in the labor force. In June, however, the labor force decreased as the decline in household employment (down nearly 12,000) exceeded an increase in people seeking work (up nearly 8,200).
The state rate still was down half a percentage point from 6 percent in June 2012 and is more than two percentage points lower than the national jobless rate of 7.6 percent in June.
The biggest job gains in June occurred in professional and business services, up 4,600 jobs to 684,200.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that jobless rates rose in 28 states in June.
In surrounding states and the District of Columbia, the unemployment rates were 8.5 percent in D.C., 8.4 percent in Kentucky, 7 percent in Maryland, 8.8 percent in North Carolina, 8.5 percent in Tennessee and 6.1 percent in West Virginia.
The seasonally adjusted rate takes into account seasonal changes in the labor market.
