Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, October 7, 1995                   TAG: 9510080001
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

UNEMPLOYMENT HITS SIX-YEAR LOW

The rate for Roanoke, Salem and Roanoke and Botetourt counties was 3.3 percent, the best since 2.9 percent in August six years ago, the Virginia Employment Commission said.

"It's a very strong picture for the Roanoke area," said William Mezger, the commission's senior economist.

In the New River Valley, 4.5 percent of the labor force could not find work in August, compared to 5 percent a year earlier.

The state economy also hummed along at a good clip, posting a jobless rate of 4.5 percent as well. There was little or no change in rates for the Roanoke area, New River Valley or state between July and August.

The national rate was 5.6 percent in August and last month.

Botetourt County led the region with a jobless rate of 2.7 percent - the seventh-lowest rate of 135 cities and counties in the state. Botetourt County's strong job market has developed gradually, rather than from a single company or companies hiring large numbers of employees in August, said assistant county administrator Ned McElwaine.

The total number of jobs in the region stood at 139,900, up 4 percent from a year earlier. None of the four other metro areas in the state saw that magnitude of job growth.

Manufacturing workers in the region earned an average hourly wage of $12.89, well above the state average of $11.86. The length of the work week, on average, stood at 42.4 hours, compared to 41.7 hours statewide.

Wise County posted the state's highest unemployment rate, 17.4 percent, which state officials attributed to Westmoreland Coal Co. shutting down its Virginia operations.

In a separate report Friday, the U.S. Labor Department said the nation's unemployment rate held steady at 5.6 percent in September. With 121,000 new jobs created, the report was touted as fresh evidence the economy is rebounding modestly from last spring's slump.

``The economy has rounded the corner and is back on a forward track,'' said Robert Dederick, economic consultant for the Northern Trust Co. in Chicago. ``We have had our soft landing, and we are now in a sedate recovery.''

``This report is telling the Fed that all is well. They have set the dials at what so far is precisely the right level,'' Dederick said.

For September, manufacturing industries shed 32,000 jobs, bringing total losses since March to 200,000. The losses last month were widespread, with the largest declines occurring in apparel and textiles, where job losses have been accelerating in the last few months. The key auto sector also suffered big losses for the month, declining by 9,000 jobs.

Nevertheless, the overall number of payroll jobs rose by 121,000 last month, slightly below economists' expectations. Payroll jobs had increased 262,000 in August, but much of that strength came from earlier starting dates for schools.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.