Virginia Chamber unveils economic dashboard

The Virginia Chamber Foundation has launched an internet-based economic dashboard that compares the commonwealth’s performance with other states.

The dashboard includes information on key indicators such as: economic performance, transportation and trade, innovation and entrepreneurship, business climate, high-tech performance and talent pipeline.

In addition to keeping track of Virginia’s overall economy, the dashboard also shows how different regions of the commonwealth are faring.

Metrics under economic performance, for example, include long-term and short-term job growth, long-term and short-term gross state product (GSP), unemployment rate and employment risk.

Looking at unemployment, the dashboard shows that Virginia has one of the lowest jobless rates east of the Mississippi River, but rates vary widely by locality throughout the state.

Meanwhile, a business climate ranking by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce shows that Virginia fell from sixth in 2010 to 11th in 2015 among the 50 states while Delaware continued to be No. 1.

The dashboard was unveiled Friday at the Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s 7th Annual Virginia Economic Summit held at the Williamsburg Lodge at Colonial Williamsburg.