Local residents insulated
from national unemployment trend
Employment in Rockbridge County remains high, despite a rising national jobless rate that has left many worried the United States is heading toward a recession.
"Overall, our economy is fairly stable," said Sharon Dull, office manager of the local Virginia Employment Commission Workforce Center in Buena Vista. "We have a good diversity of jobs from different sectors."
Earlier this month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the national unemployment rate for December rose to 5 percent, an increase of 0.3 percentage points from the previous month. That was the largest monthly increase since Sept. 11, 2001.
However, it is still unclear how the country's slowing economy may affect local jobs.
"It takes a little bit longer for our area to really see an impact," Dull said.
Arthur Goldsmith, an economics professor at Washington and Lee University, said the local economy is unique. He said the county's labor market can be divided into three segments: tourism, universities and manufacturing.
Tourism tends to fluctuate throughout the year, while employment at the three universities in the county tends to be more stable, Goldsmith said.
If the economy continues to slow, Goldsmith said, manufacturing and construction in the county may be affected. Manufacturing is the largest industry in the county, employing nearly one third of its workers, according to the Virginia Employment Commission.
Typically, the county unemployment rate stands below the state average jobless rate, Dull said. However, in recent months, that trend has changed slightly.
While the jobless rates for the state and county have yet to be released for December, the November unemployment rate for the state stood at 3 percent, up 0.1 percentage points from the previous month.
Between October and November, the unemployment rate for Rockbridge County rose to 3.1 percent. Lexington saw a jump from 4.2 percent to 4.6 percent in the same time period.
Dull said this larger jump in Lexington is often the result of simple statistics. With fewer people living in the city than the county, any change in the number of unemployed will result in a more significant change in the unemployment rate.
For local resident Matthew Hoadley, 23, the job search has been mainly outside the county.
Hoadley, who recently filed for unemployment insurance for the first time, got out of the U.S. Marines in December. He worked as a general mechanic in the military and has been looking since January for jobs on oil rigs and overseas.
Hoadley said he remains hopeful about his job prospects.
"There's a need for [my skills]," he said.
Goldsmith said he does not expect the national unemployment rate to decrease in the next months. Signs of a rising unemployment rate were seen as early as fall, when companies began cutting back on employee work hours, he said. Data also showed fewer companies investing in equipment and decreases in the inventory companies maintained.
"[Company owners] are starting to get the sense that this is more permanent," Goldsmith said. "At that point, it is economically prudent to cut [employees] loose."
Produced by
Washington and Lee
journalism students.
Lead Supervisors:
Prof. Brian
Richardson
Prof. Phylissa
Mitchell
Editing supervisor:
Prof. Pamela Luecke
Technical supervisor: Michael Todd