Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell by less than 1% between September and October to 5.3%, according to employment statistics released Friday by the Virginia Employment Commission — but unemployment still remains 2.6% higher than the same time last year.
The labor force fell by 0.4% to 4.27 million while the number of employed Virginians increased by more than 24,000 to 4.05 million. Non-agriculture jobs rose by 34,000 and the private sector gained 36,700 jobs. The public sector payroll lost 2,700 jobs, however.
The largest monthly job gains during October were in leisure and hospitality (adding 13,300 jobs) and trade and transportation (adding 8,400 jobs). Other sectors that saw increases included professional and business services (adding 7,600 jobs), education and health services (adding 3,300 jobs) and construction (adding 3,100 jobs), among other industries.
