By Randy Arrington
LURAY — The Virginia Employment Commission recently released February 2022 Local Area Unemployment Rates that show Page County’s jobless claims fell three-tenths of a percent from the previous month, after more than a full-point jump from December to January.
With 474 claims for unemployment insurance among a workforce of 11,998 — Page County reported a jobless rate of 4.0 percent for February 2022. In January, that figure stood at 4.3 percent, while December’s rate was just 3 percent — the lowest unemployment rate in the county since November 2019.
Employment in Page County totaled 11,524 for February — a decrease of 21 jobs from January’s adjusted employment total of 11,545. There were 69 fewer unemployment claims filed in February versus the previous month.
In February 2021, the county’s jobless rate stood at 6.2 percent with 723 unemployment claims filed. This February, Page County had 675 more people employed than it did a year ago.
The Lord Fairfax Planning District reported a regional unemployment rate of 2.57 percent for February 2022, a decrease from January’s 3.04 percent. Every jurisdiction in the region saw a decrease of about a half-percent in the unemployment rate from January to February. The planning district reported a jobless rate of 4.04 percent in February 2021 with 19,940 claims for unemployment insurance, compared to 12,996 this February.
Madison County and Falls Church City reported the lowest unemployment rate in Virginia for February at 1.9 percent. The City of Petersburg continued to report the highest unemployment rate in the commonwealth at 8.2 percent.
Here’s a look at February 2022 unemployment rates across the region and rankings among Virginia’s 133 localities:
• 1.9% — Madison County, 1st
• 2.3% — Frederick, Rappahannock and Rockingham counties, 6th
• 2.4% — Clarke County, 15th
• 2.5% — Shenandoah County, 23rd
• 2.6% — City of Winchester, 30th
• 2.7% — Warren County, 38th
• 3% — City of Harrisonburg, 70th
• 4% — Page County, 111th
Virginia posted a statewide unemployment rate of 2.9 percent for February 2022, down from 3.4 percent the previous month. One year ago, the Commonwealth posted a jobless rate of 4.7 percent with 201,752 unemployment claims. Those claims dropped to 125,719 this February.
The U.S. unemployment rate for February 2022 stood at 4.1 percent, a decrease from January’s 4.4 percent. Last year, U.S. unemployment for February was at 6.6 percent with 10.5 million out of work. This February, nationwide jobless claims dropped to 6.7 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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