Va. saw jobs recovery drop in September

After recovering a total of 68,000 jobs in August, Virginia saw its labor force fall by 71,954, or 1.7%, in September, according to employment statistics released Tuesday by the Virginia Employment Commission. Between September 2019 and September 2020, the VEC estimates that Virginia has lost 207,100 jobs a 5.1% decrease.

The commonwealth also saw a slight increase in its adjusted unemployment rate by 0.1% in September to 6.2%, which is 3.5 percentage points higher than the rate from the same time period last year. The unemployment rate, however, continues to be below the national rate, which fell to 7.9%, according to the VEC.

The largest monthly job gains during September were in leisure and hospitality and business services, which both added 5,400 jobs. Other sectors that saw increases included trade and transportation (adding 3,500 jobs), manufacturing (adding 2,700 jobs) and finance (adding 1,600 jobs), among other industries. 

Government employment was the only major industry sector that reported jobs lost. The industry reported a job loss of 10,300 in local government jobs, but the state government also lost 2,000 jobs. The federal government added 700 jobs in the commonwealth during September.

Despite some job recovery, 10 out of the 11 major industry divisions in Virginia reported declines compared to last year. Leisure and hospitality was down by 76,400 jobs, compared to September 2019, while education and health sciences were down by 38,500 jobs. Government, professional and business services, manufacturing, finance and trade also reported major losses. Construction is the only industry that has up by 3,800 jobs compared to the same period in 2019.

Regionally, the largest job increases during September happened in Northern Virginia, which added 8,100 jobs during September. The Richmond, Eastern Virginia, Roanoke and Winchester regions also reported job gains, while job losses were reported in the Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, Staunton and Waynesboro areas.

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