Region's jobless rate falls, gains in service sector

The region's unemployment rate fell to 7 percent in October from 7.3 percent in September, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Tuesday. The figure remained unchanged from the 7 percent rate in October 2010.

Unemployment usually tails off in October, as public and private schools and colleges finish their hiring for the fall term, said Ann Lang, senior economist for the state agency.

The October unemployment figure for Hampton Roads is still significantly higher than its lowest point this year - 6.5 percent in April. Even so, all localities in Hampton Roads registered a decline in the jobless rate from September. Half reported decreases from a year ago.

Franklin/Southampton County experienced the sharpest decline in the jobless rate.

It fell to 8.9 percent in October from 9.6 percent in September and 9.9 percent a year earlier.

Among localities, unemployment rates for October ranged from 5.4 percent in Currituck County, N.C., to 14.6 percent in Williamsburg.

Hampton Roads added 3,100 jobs in "professional and business services," primarily in administrative and support positions, Lang said. The region also recorded a gain of 2,500 in education and government.

However, employment in the leisure and hospitality industry declined by 5,300, with the close of the summer tourist season.

Overall, total nonfarm employment in Hampton Roads held constant from September, at 730,100. The unemployment rate declined in October because the number of people classified as unemployed dropped.

Vinod Agarwal, an economist at Old Dominion University, said he was encouraged by another statistic: The size of the regional labor force compared with a year ago has risen since May.

The region's jobless rate remains above Virginia's but below the national average.

Last month, the employment commission reported that Virginia's unemployment rate for October was 6 percent. It had been 6.4 percent in both September and October 2010.

The figures for the state and local areas are not adjusted for seasonal factors. Nationally, the unadjusted rate dropped to 8.5 percent in October from 8.8 percent in September. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Friday that the unadjusted rate continued falling to 8.2 percent in November.

The more widely reported seasonally adjusted jobless figure for the nation was 8.6 percent in November.

Philip Walzer, (757) 222-3864, phil.walzer@pilotonline.com