Page County’s unemployment falls below 3% in July; jobs and workforce continue to grow

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By Randy Arrington

LURAY, Aug. 31 — The Virginia Employment Commission released July 2022 Local Area Unemployment Rates on Tuesday, which show Page County’s jobless claims remained steady in July as the overall workforce and jobs continued to grow. Unemployment was fairly flat in month-to-month comparisons across the region and across the commonwealth from June to July.

With 378 claims for unemployment insurance among a workforce of 13,045 — Page County reported a jobless rate of 2.9 percent for July 2022. A slight decrease from June’s reported 3.0 percent. January’s 4.3 percent unemployment still stands as the highest of 2022 for Page. The lowest rate was April’s 2.8 percent.

Employment in Page County totaled 12,667 for July — an increase of 163 jobs from June’s adjusted employment total of 12,504. There were also 15 fewer unemployment claims filed in July versus the previous month. The unemployment rate remained roughly the same month-to-month as the civilian workforce in the county also grew by 948.

In July 2021, the county’s jobless rate stood at 4.6 percent with 553 unemployment claims filed. This July, Page County had 1,123 more people employed than it did a year ago.

The Lord Fairfax Planning District reported a regional unemployment rate of 2.56 percent for July 2022, almost identical to June’s 2.64 percent. The planning district reported a jobless rate of 3.50 percent in July 2021 with 4,389 claims for unemployment insurance, compared to 3,325 this July.

Arlington County, Highland County and Madison County all reported the lowest unemployment rate in Virginia for July at 2.1 percent. The City of Petersburg continued to report the highest unemployment rate in the commonwealth at 6.9 percent — a 0.3-percent increase from last month.

Here’s a look at July 2022 unemployment rates across the region and rankings among Virginia’s 133 localities:

2.1% — Madison County, 1st

• 2.4% — Frederick County, 9th

• 2.5% — Clarke and Shenandoah counties, 17th

• 2.6% — Rappahannock and Rockingham counties, 24th

• 2.7% — City of Winchester, 33rd

• 2.8 % — Warren County, 47th

• 2.9% — Page County, 59th

• 3.7% — City of Harrisonburg, 107th

Virginia posted a statewide unemployment rate of 2.9 percent for July 2022, down slightly from 3.0 percent the previous month. One year ago, the Commonwealth posted a jobless rate of 4.2 percent with 179,567 unemployment claims. Those claims dropped to 127,464 this July.

The U.S. unemployment rate for July 2022 stood at 3.8 percent, identical to June’s rate. Last year, U.S. unemployment for July was at 5.7 percent with 9.2 million out of work. This July, nationwide jobless claims dropped to 6.3 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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