The month of May saw twice as many unemployed people in Central Virginia as there were a year ago.
Although the Lynchburg area’s jobless rate had dipped in April, it rose again last month as college students began looking for summer jobs without much luck.
The region’s jobless rate in May was 7.7 percent with 9,780 people unemployed, compared to 3.9 percent and 4,780 unemployed in May 2008, according to the Virginia Employment Commission. Unemployment essentially doubled in every locality in the region.
In each month beginning with February this year, the region’s unemployment rate has been approximately twice what it was in the same month of 2008.
The unemployment rate usually rises in May as students, including college students, enter the work force and look for jobs. This year, those students are facing “the worst summer job market in 30 years,” said William Mezger, chief economist for the Virginia Employment Commission. “You’ve got fewer jobs, plus more people applying for them.”
He said people who have lost their jobs in other industries are applying for retail and similar jobs that students usually seek.
The Lynchburg region’s job-growth rate has slowed to less than 1 percent in recent months. The region has gained about 1,700 service jobs from May 2008 to May 2009, but it shed more than 1,200 jobs in manufacturing, construction, transportation and retail, according to VEC data.
The state in May had some job losses related to the automobile industry as some dealerships closed and manufacturers of vehicle parts scaled back production, Mezger said.
There has been some increase in federal and local government jobs as economic stimulus money is distributed, he said.
Virginia’s unemployment rate was 7 percent in May, compared to 6.6 percent in April and 3.6 in April 2008. The U.S. average is 9.4 percent.
The city of Martinsville continues to claim Virginia’s top jobless rate at 21.9 percent. Twenty-four jurisdictions reported double-digit unemployment in May.
Virginia’s 10 metropolitan areas saw higher unemployment rates in May. The highest was Danville with 13 percent.
• The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Area Unemployment Rates
• Bedford city
— May 2009: 9.6
— May 2008: 5
• Lynchburg
— May 2009: 8.4
— May 2008: 4.5
• Amherst County
— May 2009: 7.9
— May 2008: 3.7
• Appomattox County
— May 2009: 7.8
— May 2008: 4
• Bedford County
— May 2009: 6.7
— May 2008: 3.2
• Campbell County
— May 2009: 7.7
— May 2008: 3.9
• Nelson County
— May 2009: 6.6
— May 2008: 3
• Pittsylvania County
— May 2009: 11.8
— May 2008: 6.2
• Lynchburg region
— May 2009: 7.7
— May 2008: 3.9
• Virginia
— May 2009: 7
— May 2008: 3.6
• United States
— May 2009: 9.1
— May 2008: 5.2
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