City unemployment rate jumps to 2-decade high

Charlottesville’s unemployment rate abruptly surged to a 20-year high in January, apparently fueled by a post-holiday reduction in retail jobs and temporary post-holiday unemployment, according to Virginia Employment Commission officials.

Figures released Wednes-day by the commission show the city’s unemployment rose to 8 percent in January, 2.2 percentage points higher than December’s rate of 5.8 percent and 2 percentage points higher than January 2009’s rate of 6 percent.

Commission figures dating back to 1990 show that the 8 percent rate is the city’s highest for any given month since at least 1990. The number exceeds June 2009’s 7.6 percent and far exceeds rates reached during recessions in 2001 and 1991.

Exactly what caused the rise, which puts the city’s unemployment rate above the state’s 7.6 percent rate for the first time since the economy tanked in December 2007, is uncertain.

State officials point to decreased government unemployment, which includes college employees on winter break. They also note decreases in manufacturing as Cenveo/Cadmus closed the former LexisNexis printing plant on Carlton Avenue, putting 61 employees out of work.

“There were increases in government-related unemployment during the reporting period that reflect the University of Virginia being on break and there were some reductions in manufacturing,” said Ann Lang, of the employment commission. “The rise appears to be mostly seasonal and, if there were any layoffs outside of the city that impacted city residents, that would also reflect on the city’s unemployment rate.”

Lang said the city’s labor force increased at the same time as the number of unemployed. Area economic officials said that could indicate that more people are entering the labor force, but Lang said the state determines the civilian labor force statistic by adding those employed and those unemployed. The number does not represent those returning to the job market, she said.

Area economic officials say that leaves them guessing as to what prompted the city’s unemployment rate to skyrocket to 8 percent.

“I’m not sure exactly what may have been the cause,” said Michael Harvey, president of the Thomas Jefferson Partner-ship for Economic Develop-ment. “There haven’t been any large layoffs as of late so it’s pretty much a surprise.”

Chris Engel, of the city’s office of economic development, said the number could be an anomaly.

“It could just be a bad sample of the area,” he said. “It will be interesting to see what next month’s rate is.”

January figures for Albemarle County and the Charlottesville Metropoli-tan Area also saw increases between December and January, but those increases were within annual norms, state figures show.

The county’s rate rose 1.1 percentage points in January to 5.9 percent from December’s 4.8 percent. The county’s rate in January 2009 was 4.8 percent.

The metro area rate rose to 6.6 percent from December’s 5.4 percent. The rate was 5.3 percent in January 2009.

Charlottesville’s 8 percent rate is still lower than Louisa’s 9 percent, Waynesboro’s 9.2 and Richmond’s 10.6 percent. It remains far lower than Danville’s 14.9 or Martinsville’s 21.6 but exceeds Fairfax city’s rate of 6.1 percent.

Officials have long crowed about the city and metro area’s apparent resistance to the recession because of its employment base being heavily weighted toward health, education and business services. The January jump, they say, may just be an aberration.

Timothy Hulbert, president and chief executive of the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce, said the numbers should be researched to determine if that’s true, if there is a cause and what course of action, if any, should be taken.

“That kind of jump in unemployment requires inquiry,” Hulbert said. “We need to look into it and do it quickly.”