THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 2, 1996 TAG: 9611020581
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LON WAGNER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 42 lines
Virginia's economy set a few records in September, and Hampton Roads didn't do too badly, either.
The state's 4.2 percent unemployment rate was the lowest September mark in seven years, the Virginia Employment Commission reported.
Hampton Roads' rate, while not a record for the region, dropped to 4.8 percent compared to last year's September rate of 4.9 percent. That's lower than the United States' 5.0 percent rate.
Both the state and regional unemployment rates were slightly higher than in August.
``What happened this month is that we had students coming into the labor force looking for after-school work,'' said William F. Mezger, senior economist for the VEC.
And in regions like Hampton Roads, with tourism-oriented economies, the unemployment rate usually jumps a little more.
That was evidenced in two of the region's more tourism-dependent cities. The unemployment rate in Virginia Beach rose from 3.9 percent in August to 4.3 percent in September. In Williamsburg, it jumped from 6.1 percent to 7.2 percent.
This year, Hurricane Fran added employment difficulties in central Virginia as its flooding and power disruptions forced some companies to shut down for a few days, Mezger said.
Still, the state's work force has been busy and making money.
The average production worker in Virginia earned weekly wages of $522.65 in September, which bested August's high-water mark by more than a dollar.
The average length of the work week also established an all-time high of 42.7 hours, seven-tenths of an hour longer than last September, the VEC said. That's an indication that companies have plenty of work but are hesitant to hire.
``In the past couple of years, firms have been slower to hire because of uncertainty in their business and because fringe benefits are so costly,'' Mezger said. ``Sometimes it's just easier to get a little bit more production if you pay overtime to the people you've already hired.''
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA UNEMPLOYMENT RATE by CNB