By Randy Arrington
LURAY — The Virginia Employment Commission recently released April 2022 Local Area Unemployment Rates, which show Page County’s jobless claims fell for a third-straight month and represent the most dramatic month-to-month decline in the region.
With 354 claims for unemployment insurance among a workforce of 12,485 — Page County reported a jobless rate of 2.8 percent for April 2022. That represents a decline of six-tenths of a percent from March’s rate of 3.4 percent, and the largest month-to-month decline within the Lord Fairfax Planning District. In February, Page’s unemployment stood at 4.1 percent, while January’s rate was reported at 4.3 percent.
Employment in Page County totaled 12,131 for April — an increase of 311 jobs from March’s adjusted employment total of 11,820. There were 68 fewer unemployment claims filed in April versus the previous month.
In April 2021, the county’s jobless rate stood at 5 percent with 579 unemployment claims filed. This April, Page County had 1,027 more people employed than it did a year ago.
The Lord Fairfax Planning District reported a regional unemployment rate of 2.23 percent for April 2022, a slight decrease from March’s 2.41 percent. Eight of nine surrounding jurisdictions across the region saw their rates decline from March to April by small margins, while Shenandoah County reported the same rate.
The planning district reported a jobless rate of 3.44 percent in April 2021 with 4,232 claims for unemployment insurance, compared to 2,836 this year.
Madison County and Falls Church City reported the lowest unemployment rate in Virginia for April at 1.8 percent. The City of Petersburg continued to report the highest unemployment rate in the commonwealth at 6.7 percent.
Here’s a look at April 2022 unemployment rates across the region and rankings among Virginia’s 133 localities:
• 1.8% — Madison County, 1st
• 2.0% — Frederick and Rockingham counties, 5th
• 2.1% — Clarke County, 14th
• 2.2% — Rappahannock County, 23rd
• 2.3% — Shenandoah and Warren counties, City of Winchester, 32nd
• 2.6% — City of Harrisonburg, 70th
• 2.8% — Page County, 88th
Virginia posted a statewide unemployment rate of 2.5 percent for April 2022, down from 0.2 percent the previous month. One year ago, the Commonwealth posted a jobless rate of 3.9 percent with 167,671 unemployment claims. Those claims dropped to 109,567 this April.
The U.S. unemployment rate for April 2022 stood at 3.3 percent, a decrease from March’s 3.8 percent. Last year, U.S. unemployment for April was at 5.7 percent with 9.2 million out of work. This April, nationwide jobless claims dropped to 5.5 million.
For additional information on unemployment insurance in Virginia, access the VEC’s U.I. claims data dashboard (https://www.vec.virginia.gov/ui-claims-dashboard)
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