After a year and a half of better than normal economic growth at the national level, Virginia is showing that it is the state in the union to do business best as the Commonwealth’s unemployment rate dropped to an 11-year low in May at 3.2 percent. The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) said last week that the seasonally-adjusted rate was down six-tenths of a percentage point from that of May 2017.
The state’s jobless rate is now at its lowest since October 2007, marking the best month for Virginia since the national economic recession that happened over ten years ago.
A report from Virginia Business shows that the statewide labor force expanded for the fourth straight month to a total of 4,338,619. The non-farm payroll increased by a seasonally-adjusted 6,200 jobs in May to a total of 4,000,500 employed in the Commonwealth. The numbers have concluded a fifth consecutive monthly increase and a new record high.
In terms of the national unemployment rate, May showed a 44-year low at 3.8 percent.
In May, employment in Virginia increased in six major industry divisions. The largest job gain was in the trade and transportation sector, where numbers rose by 3,900 jobs to a total statewide of 671,200. That total set a record high that surpassed the pre-recession peak of 669,100 in March 2007.
Nevertheless, jobs decreased in three industry divisions during the month of May, the largest being in the professional and business services sector, where employment fell by 1,300 jobs to 738,000.
Employment remained unchanged in the construction sector with 200,800 total jobs. The mining sector has the same amount employed as it did in April at 8,200.
The news comes as the Port of Virginia, one of the most significant ports in the U.S., is booming economically. Currently, the port facilitates $242 million worth of commerce every day, and employs nine percent, or 343,000, Virginians in some capacity. Due to this, expansion projects are beginning which will both widen and deepen channels to take on two-way traffic at peak times and super-large international cargo ships.
