Jobless rates fall in April

Unemployment rates fell in 10 of Virginia’s 11 metro areas in April.

The declines from March ranged from two tenths of a percentage point in the Danville area to 1.1 points in the Harrisonburg region.

The Bristol region was the only Virginia metro area that didn’t see a decline. Its jobless rate remained at 6 percent.

The figures are not seasonally adjusted, meaning they do not take into account seasonal changes in the labor market.

The Charlottesville region had the lowest unemployment rate among the commonwealth’s metro areas, 3.7 percent, down seven tenths of a percentage point from March.

That April rate was one tenth of a percentage point lower than Northern Virginia, the region that has consistently led the state in low unemployment.

While those regions recorded rates below 4 percent, four others — Blacksburg, Harrisonburg, Roanoke and Winchester — all had jobless numbers of under 5 percent.

Danville’s 6.9 percent rate for April was highest among the 11 metro areas.

Among individual Virginia localities, Arlington County and Falls Church had the lowest unemployment rates in April, 3.2 percent, while Martinsville had the highest rate, 11.2 percent.

The comparable jobless figures for Virginia and the U.S, for April were 4.7 percent and 5.9 percent, respectively. Those numbers also are not seasonally adjusted.

A breakdown of the unemployment figures in metro areas showed:

Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford: 4.6 percent in April, down from 5.5 percent in March.
Bristol: 6 percent, unchanged.
Charlottesville: 3.7 percent, down from 4.4 percent.
Danville: 6.9 percent, down from 7.1 percent.
Hampton Roads: 5.1 percent, down from 5.7 percent.
Harrisonburg: 4.1 percent, down from 5.2 percent.
Lynchburg: 5.2 percent, down from 6 percent.
Northern Virginia: 3.8 percent, down from 4.3 percent.
Richmond: 5 percent, down from 5.5 percent.
Roanoke: 4.8 percent, down from 5.4 percent.
Winchester: 4.2 percent, down from 4.7 percent.