A surge of new college graduates into the job market pushed up Hampton Roads’ jobless rate by almost a half percentage point to 3.9 percent in May, the Virginia Employment Commission said Wednesday. The unemployment rate in April was 3.5 percent, the commission said.
Despite an increase of 10,300 jobs in the region during the past year, the unemployment rate rose a full percentage point from the 2.9 percent rate in May 2007.
The increases in jobless rates for Hampton Roads and other metro areas in the state were due largely to the timing of the unemployment survey, which ran from May 11 through May 17, said William Mezger, chief economist for the commission’s economic information services division.
“By the end of that week, most colleges in Virginia had graduations, putting thousands of new graduates into the job market,” he said.
Meanwhile, individuals who have been out of work found that it took them longer to line up another job because of the slower pace of economic growth, Mezger said.
Statewide, the jobless rate climbed to 3.8 percent in May from 3.3 percent in April, the commission said. That was a full percentage point higher than the year-earlier rate of 2.8 percent.
The nation’s 5.2 percent jobless rate for May was up from 4.8 percent in April and 4.3 percent in May 2007.
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