ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 10, 1996 TAG: 9602120021
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER
Employment in the Roanoke metropolitan area stood at 142,100 jobs at the end of November, 3 percent higher than a year earlier, state labor officials said Friday.
The top performer among the state metro areas was Northern Virginia, whose employment grew 3.3 percent to 951,300 jobs, according to the Virginia Employment Commission.
State employment grew to 3.12 million jobs, a gain of 1.4 percent. The service industry, the state's largest, added 31,900 jobs alone. Companies described by state analysts as "high-tech, high-wage" employers provided the greatest number of those new service positions, the VEC said.
In the Roanoke area, the trade sector added 2,200 jobs from November 1994 to November 1995, a gain of 6.1 percent; service companies added 600 jobs, up 1.5 percent; and government payrolls grew by 600, a gain of 5.5 percent.
Construction firms took on 400 workers, an increase of 5.3 percent, and manufacturing employment grew by 300 jobs, or 1.5 percent.
LENGTH: Short : 29 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: chart - Employment in Virginia Metro Areas STAFFby CNB