Va. job creation up in July, but filling jobs remains challenge

Total payroll employment in Virginia grew by 4,800 jobs in July, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond reported in its regional economic snapshot Friday, but some employers are having difficulty filling jobs. A U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey released Tuesday said that the number of hires in Virginia in June dropped by 33,000 since May.

The state’s unemployment rate stayed the same at 2.7% in July for the third consecutive month, according to the Richmond Fed report, and the lion’s share of new jobs were in the leisure and hospitality sector, totaling 4,600 statewide, followed by 2,100 jobs in the professional and business services sector and 800 jobs in trade, transportation and utilities. These gains are offset by job losses in financial services (1,800 jobs) and information (600 jobs) last month.

“With businesses steadily hiring and expanding and consistent unemployment, we’re on a stable path to continue Virginia’s growth,” state Secretary of Commerce Caren Merrick said in a statement. “Our focus remains on continuing to foster a business-friendly environment that attracts investment and promotes long-term economic growth across all sectors of the commonwealth.”

The BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) noted that although the number of hires in Virginia dropped to 147,000 in June, down from 180,000 in May and 186,000 in June 2023, it’s comparable with the hiring rate from five years ago, in pre-pandemic times. On the last business day in June, there were 250,000 job openings in Virginia, a seasonally adjusted number that remained the same as May’s revised figure, and the June job openings rate was 5.5%, also similar to May’s rate, and up from 4.9% job openings nationally, which stayed steady from the previous month.

The survey reported that the labor force in Virginia decreased by 0.1% since May to 66.1%.

Virginia’s sectors with job growth over the past year include education and health services topping the list with 24,900 jobs, followed by 14,500 jobs in professional business services, 11,900 government jobs and 11,300 construction jobs, according to the Richmond Fed.

In the Fed’s Fifth District, which covers Maryland, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia, the commonwealth’s job creation rate was in the middle, with South Carolina and Maryland reporting the addition of 8,400 and 6,100 jobs, respectively, in July, and North Carolina with 700 new jobs. Washington’s job rate was unchanged, and West Virginia’s number decreased by 700 jobs.