Virginia's job growth is going strong, according to the latest data from the federal government. But, it's a mixed picture for different parts of the Commonwealth.
Charlottesville, Blacksburg and Harrisonburg are seeing some of the largest job growth numbers across Virginia – more than three percent growth this summer compared to last summer.
"A common thread for these areas is a strong, what we call sometimes call eds and meds economy," says John Provo, executive director of the Center for Economic and Community Engagement at Virginia Tech. "So, a great presence of higher education and health care assets that give them a base for growth that's happening in other areas like bio in Charlottesville or manufacturing in Blacksburg and Roanoke."
Meanwhile, northern Virginia is flat lining with a job growth of less than one percent over the last year.
"We don't have enough workers," says Terry Clower, professor of public policy at the Schar School at George Mason University.
"The unemployment rate continues to be roughly about two percent here regionally, and so we’re seeing constraints on growth that just largely is a reflection of this trend of domestic outmigration that we’ve seen in northern Virginia, and more broadly the greater Washington region."
Northern Virginia isn't the only part of Virginia that's flat lining in terms of job growth. On the other side of the state, Bristol is also posting jobs numbers that are not growing as fast as other parts of the Commonwealth.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
