McAuliffe announces third consecutive month of Virginia labor force increase

Governor Terry McAuliffe today announced that Virginia’s nonfarm payroll employment increased by 4,900 jobs in October, up 67,300 jobs from October of 2015.  Since the beginning of the McAuliffe administration, Virginia has created 182,100 net new jobs.

The October nonfarm payroll employment increase is the fifth consecutive monthly increase, setting a new record high for total nonfarm employment in Virginia and resulting in an average monthly job gain of 8,940 over the past five months, compared to a year-to-date average monthly job gain of 4,660.

Virginia’s over-the-year employment growth was 1.7 percent in October and has been positive for the 31 consecutive months. Nationally, total nonfarm employment also grew 1.7 percent in October compared to a year ago.

“Virginia’s continued employment and labor force increases are clear indicators that the work we are doing to build a new Virginia economy is increasing confidence both for employers and job seekers,” said Governor McAuliffe.  “It is vitally important to continue our efforts to enhance our workforce development system and make targeted investments in key sectors to create more jobs for the citizens of the Commonwealth.”

Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was up 0.2 percentage point in October to 4.2 percent and is the same rate as last October. Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate continues below the national rate, which was down 0.1 percentage point in October to 4.9 percent. When Governor McAuliffe took office in January 2014, Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.4.

Virginia has the second lowest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate among the Southeast states. Virginia’s 4.0 percent unemployment rate is the 5^th lowest east of the Mississippi River, along with Maryland. Virginia has the second lowest employment rate of any major state, behind Massachusetts. Virginia is tied with Maryland for the 16^th lowest unemployment rate in the nation.

“Today’s announcement of 31 consecutive months of positive over-the-year employment growth is a key signal that our collaborative approach to economic development is working,” said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Todd Haymore.  “By continuing to work with our private sector partners and the General Assembly, we can further enhance Virginia’s business climate to encourage increased investment and job creation opportunities in the Commonwealth.”

In October, the private sector recorded an over-the-year employment gain of 65,700 jobs, and the public sector recorded an over-the-year gain of 1,600 jobs. Compared to a year ago, on a seasonally adjusted basis, eight of the eleven major industry divisions experienced employment gains.

For a greater statistical breakdown visit the Virginia Employment Commission’s website at www.vec.virginia.gov.