THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 13, 1996 TAG: 9602130283
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MYLENE MANGALINDAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
As a result of retailers gearing up for the holidays, Hampton Roads hit its lowest December unemployment rate in five years, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Monday.
Local unemployment dropped to 4.5 percent with 32,370 people on December's jobless rolls. That figure slid from 34,710 unemployed locally, or 4.8 percent, in November, and 5 percent in December 1994.
December marks the sixth straight month in which Hampton Roads' unemployment rate was at or below 5 percent, close to the 3 percent level considered by some economists to be full employment - the point when everyone who wants a job can find one.
Despite the long string of low rates, economists say the labor market has not begun tightening up in the region, where more than 85 companies announced expansions or relocations in South Hampton Roads alone last year. Some will complete construction this year and begin hiring.
New and expanding employers will get their pick of people because qualified and skilled workers will leave their current jobs to assume better wages or a better position, said William F. Mezger, senior economist at the Virginia Employment Commission.
``As long as the unemployment rate doesn't get down past 2 percent, I think most employers will be able to find people,'' Mezger said. ``It's when it's under 2 percent that an employer will have labor shortages.''
In a few weeks, the labor market will appear looser rather than tighter when January's unemployment report comes out in March. ``You will see higher unemployment in January then the normal swing in December to January,'' Mezger said. Retail layoffs will push up January's rate along with the normal cutbacks in construction due to colder weather and layoffs associated with the Blizzard of '96.
Last fall, the unemployment rate fell when retail stores hired people for the holidays starting in November, which carried over into low unemployment in December, Mezger said. Ford Motor Co.'s truck assembly plant in Norfolk also recalled workers after a change in the facility's assembly line.
Although retail sales may have been sluggish nationally, ``employmentwise, this was the best retail season ever,'' Mezger said.
According to preliminary tallies, Hampton Roads' unemployment averaged 4.9 percent in 1995, which is considerably lower than the 5.5 percent average rate in 1994, Mezger said. It's also the lowest average rate the region has experienced since 1990.
``The 4.5 percent for December and the 4.9 percent for the year is a very good average for Hampton Roads because Hampton Roads is always going to run about 1.5 and 2 percent higher than the other metro areas because of the continual turnover in the military families and dependents,'' Mezger said.
Virginia also experienced its lowest December jobless rate in six years with 4.1 percent unemployed, or 143,900. That's the lowest rate since a 3.8 percent jobless level in December 1989.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance in Hampton Roads increased 6.8 percent in December compared to a year ago. In December, 6,182 initial claims were filed, up from 5,791 in December 1994. There were 6,201 initial claims filed in November. ILLUSTRATION: UNEMPLOYMENT IN VIRGINIA
Graphic
SOURCE: The Virginia Employment Commission
The Virginian-Pilot
[For a copy of the graphic, see microfilm for this date.]
KEYWORDS: UNEMPLOYMENT JOBLESS RATE by CNB