Patrick County Unemployment Improved to 8.8% for February
April 12, 2012
The Patrick County, VA jobless rate improved from Jan. 2012 of 9.1% to Feb. 2012 of 8.8%.
Source: www.martinsvillebulletin.com
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
By BULLETIN STAFF REPORTS -
Martinsville’s rate was 16.7 percent for the month. In Henry County, the rate stood at 10.7 percent in February, also an improvement from the previous month. Patrick County’s rate of 8.8 percent also showed a decline, according to VEC data.
In Martinsville, there were 919 people seeking work in February out of a labor force of 5,508, the VEC reported. The labor force includes employed persons and those looking for work.
As has been the trend for some time, the size of the city’s labor force declined from January to February. Officials have said the decline may be due to people leaving the area or giving up on finding jobs.
The city’s labor force stood at 5,595 in January, when unemployment was 18.1 percent, VEC data show. The city’s February figures also showed a decline from February 2011, when the VEC reported 6,167 people in the city’s labor force and an unemployment rate of 17.7 percent.
In Henry County, the VEC showed a labor force of 23,724 in February, down from 23,739 the month before and 25,356 in February 2011. The county’s unemployment rate was 10.9 percent in January and 11.7 percent in February of last year, VEC data show.
Henry County’s jobless rate was the state’s 11th highest in February.
Patrick County also saw a drop in its labor force, from 8,759 in January to 8,746 in February, according to the VEC. The February jobless rate of 8.8 percent was down from the January rate of 9.1 percent, data showed.
Both were lower than the Patrick unemployment rate in February 2011 of 10.1 percent. At that time, the labor force included 9,318 people, the VEC reported.
Patrick County’s jobless rate ranked 25th in February.
The Henry County-Martinsville micropolitan area posted a jobless rate of 11.8 percent in February, down from 12.3 percent in January and 12.9 percent in February 2011, according to the VEC.
There were 29,232 people in the combined labor force in February, down from 29,334 in January and 31,523 in February 2011, according to the VEC.
The local rates were well above the state average unemployment rate for February of 6.1 percent. That was up slightly from 6.0 percent in January.
After Martinsville, the following localities had the highest unemployment rates in the state in February: Williamsburg, 15.1 percent; Page County, 12.3 percent; Northumberland County, 11.9 percent; and Emporia, 11.9 percent.
Arlington County had the lowest unemployment rate in Virginia at 3.9 percent.
