03/15/2007 Fairfax Jobs Picture Remains Solid
by SCOTT McCAFFREY, Staff Writer
Fairfax County's unemployment rate grew in January, part of a seasonal trend that is expected to ebb by spring.
A total of 12,976 members of the county's workforce of nearly 600,000 were looking for work during the month, resulting in an unemployment rate of 2.2 percent, according to figures reported March 14 by the Virginia Employment Commission.
That's up from the 1.9-percent rate recorded in December, but is still among the lowest unemployment rates in the commonwealth.
Rising unemployment rates during the first months of a year are par for the course, said William Mezger, chief economist for the Economic Information Services Division of the Virginia Employment Commission.
“This is a fairly usual December-to-January rise in unemployment,” Mezger said.
Why? There are a number of reasons: The holiday retail hiring period is over; the tourism industry is dormant; construction activities slow down; the downstate motor-vehicle industry furloughs workers; and educators at public colleges and universities are waiting for classes to start back up.
Statewide, the unemployment rate ticked up from 2.7 percent in December to 3.2 percent in January. That compares to a national unemployment rate of 5 percent in January, up from 4.3 percent a month before.
Northern Virginia's 2.3-percent unemployment rate in January was up from 1.9 percent a month before, but still posted the best jobs picture among all regions of the commonwealth.
For the month, Arlington had the best employment picture of any of Virginia's 134 cities and counties, at 2 percent. Arlington eclipsed Loudoun County, whose unemployment rate spiked from a rock-bottom 1.6 percent in December to 2.2 percent in January.
Among other jurisdictions in Northern Virginia, the city of Alexandria posted an unemployment rate of 2.2 percent in January, Prince William County posted a 2.5-percent rate, and the city of Falls Church posted a 3.2-percent rate.
The highest unemployment rate for the month, statewide, was recorded in the city of Danville, which reported a 9.5-percent rate.
Mezger said the unemployment rate likely will rise slightly higher when February figures are reported next month, then decline into spring, as construction and tourism jobs are filled again.
“February normally sees the lowest employment level for the year,” he said.
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