Page's unemployment falls to 4% in August, job workshops Saturday

By Randy Arrington

LURAY, Sept. 30 — On Wednesday, the Virginia Employment Commission released August 2021 Local Area Unemployment Rates that show Page County’s jobless claims fell three-tenths from June and are no longer the highest in the region.

With 492 claims for unemployment insurance among a workforce of 12,281 — Page County reported a jobless rate of 4.0 percent for August 2021. In July, that figure stood at 4.3 percent. Employment in the county totaled 11,789 for August — a decrease of 99 from July. There were 51 fewer unemployment claims filed.

In August 2020, the county’s jobless rate stood at 6.4 percent with 780 unemployment claims filed. This August, Page County had 393 more people employed than it did a year ago.

Page’s unemployment rate has steadily declined since starting the year at a peak of 7.8 percent in January.

During the initial surge of unemployment claims filed in late March 2020 and early April 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit the region, Page County saw a peak of 556 claims filed in just one week (April 4, 2020). April 2020 saw a total of 1,507 claims for unemployment insurance filed in the county.

The Lord Fairfax Planning District reported a regional unemployment rate of 3.1 percent for August 2021, a decrease of a three-tenths below July’s 3.4 percent. Every jurisdiction across the region saw drops in unemployment claims from July to August, averaging nearly a half-point. The planning district reported a jobless rate of 5.4 percent in August 2020 with 6,878 claims for unemployment insurance, compared to 3,863 this August.

Neighboring Madison County once again posted the lowest unemployment rate in Virginia at 2.4 percent, but they shared the spotlight with Highland County who posted the same rate. Nearby Frederick County came in fourth statewide with a jobless rate of 2.7 percent. Five counties in the region reported unemployment rates under 3 percent for August 2021.

The City of Petersburg continues to report the highest unemployment rate in the commonwealth at 9.6 percent.

Here’s a look at August 2021 unemployment rates across the region and rankings among Virginia’s 133 localities:

• 2.4% — Madison County, 1st

• 2.7% — Frederick County, 4th

• 2.8% — Rockingham County, 7th

• 2.9% — Clarke and Rappahannock counties, 8th

• 3.1% — Shenandoah County, 29th

• 3.2% — City of Winchester, 33rd

• 3.4% — Warren County, 47th

• 4.0% — Page County, 86th

• 4.1% — City of Harrisonburg, 91st

Virginia posted a statewide unemployment rate of 3.8 percent for August 2021, down from 4.1 in July. One year ago, the Commonwealth posted a jobless rate of 7.1 percent with 312,141 unemployment claims. Those claims dropped to 161,621 this August.

The U.S. unemployment rate for August 2021 stood at 5.3 percent, a slight decrease from July’s 5.7 percent. Last year, U.S. unemployment for August was 8.5 percent.

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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The Page County Economic Development and Tourism office is partnering with the Harrisonburg office of Virginia Career Works to offer a Job Search Assistance Workshop from 9 a.m. to noon this Saturday, Oct. 2 at the Lord Fairfax Community College’s Jenkins Hall (behind Walmart)in Luray and the Shenandoah Computer Center on Second Street in the Town of Shenandoah.

At what’s being dubbed a “reverse job fair”, job seekers will be paired with career coaches to work on resumes, interview skills and communication. Their skill sets will be paired up with available positions at regional employers.

The event is free and open to the public.

For more information or to sig-up, visit forms.office.com/r/9Fg9XuKFQv

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