Virginia unemployment dips to 4.1 percent

Virginia unemployment rate dipped one-tenth of a percentage point in January to 4.1 percent.

The January rate represents the lowest jobless rate in the commonwealth since July 2008, according to the Virginia Employment Commission.

The unemployment numbers are seasonally adjusted. That means they have been adjusted to accommodate seasonal fluctuations in the labor force.

Before January’s decline the commonwealth’s jobless figure had remained unchanged at 4.2 percent for five months.

Twelve months before, in January 2015, the unemployment rate was 4.8 percent.

The Virginia labor force grew by 4,940 people in January, the sixth consecutive monthly increase. Household employment rose by 5,588, continuing an upward trend that began a year and a half ago.

The national seasonally adjusted jobless rate was 4.9 percent in January, down one-tenth of percentage point from December.

Virginia’s seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment totaled 3.9 million in January, down 600 jobs from December. Total employment had risen nearly 89,000 jobs during the previous nine months.

During the previous 12 months, the number of jobs in Virginia rose by 86,100, with the biggest gains in Northern Virginia (31,900) and the Richmond area (27,300).

Employment rose in five major industry divisions in January, fell in another five and remained unchanged in finance at 199,700 jobs.

The largest decrease in jobs occurred in construction, down 5,400 to 182,400. The biggest gain occurred in education and health services, up 3,800 jobs to 522,000.