Net gain of jobs in April, according to new employment data

The local employment picture is taking on a rosier hue with substantial gains in the job markets in Waynesboro, Staunton and Augusta County reflected in the April 2009 report of the Virgnia Employment Commission.

The unemployment rate in Waynesboro was at 8.8 percent in April, down from a scary 11.1 percent in March with the net creation of 261 more jobs in the month of April, according to data from the VEC.

Unemployment rates in Staunton and the county were both down 1 percent each, to 6.9 percent in April in Staunton from 7.9 percent a month earlier and to 6.4 percent in the county from 7.4 percent a month earlier.

The numbers reflected a net gain of 811 new jobs in the Greater Augusta region in April.

– Story by Chris Graham