Virginia's unemployment rate is 5.2 percent. But what's behind that number, and how does it vary throughout the commonwealth?
The highest unemployment rate in Virginia is in Buchanan County in southwest Virginia, at 7.9%. Other areas with unemployment more than 6% are Northumberland and Lancaster Counties on the Northern Neck, and Dickinson County, also in the southwest.
Terry Clower at George Mason University says these areas are struggling more than other parts of Virginia because of long-term economic trends. "We have some counties that because of industrial change, declines in agriculture, declines in coal mining, other traditional industries, have really been struggling for a while."
Unemployment numbers capture the percentage of people who don't have a job and also are currently looking for work. But people who look at these numbers say the pandemic has caused a bit of confusion here.
"Right now unemployment measures are a little iffy because of COVID," says Leslie Stratton at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Stratton says when people fill out the surveys they're not sure whether they should say they're actively looking for work or not. "Individuals are receiving unemployment insurance even if they're not actively searching for a job because they're afraid of COVID."
The bottom line, she says, is that the official number may not be an accurate reflection of the people who are out of work and struggling.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
