Triangle Unemployment Consistently Down Through Spring Months

By Desiree Parker Saturday, July 02, 2011

Unemployment in the Triangle over the spring months was down across the board in every locality in every month compared to the same period in 2010.

All three localities saw drops in unemployment every month, with the most significant reductions occurring in Williamsburg. The city numbers dipped from 16.1 percent in May 2010 to 12.9 percent the same month this year. In April the city saw unemployment slip from 15.2 percent in 2010 to 13.5 percent this year.

Williamsburg Vice Mayor Paul Freiling said that “declining unemployment is certainly a welcome sign,” however, “the [city’s] numbers are still far too high.”

Freiling says the high city unemployment rate may come from people listing Williamsburg as their address when really they live in a neighboring area, something Virginia Employment Commission economists have also said in previous interviews.

It is also not typical to break smaller city numbers away from neighboring jurisdictions as the state does with Williamsburg. Economist William Metzger told WYDaily in a previous interview that the city’s small size can skew unemployment numbers, and it’s better to consider Williamsburg together with its neighbors.

Considered together, the Historic Triangle unemployment in May was 5.7 percent, down from 6.1 percent for the area in May 2010. In April the joint unemployment rate was also 5.7 percent, down from 6.1 percent in 2010, and in March it was 6.7 percent, down from 7.2 percent.

Freiling agreed that looking at the area together is a good idea when making a judgment on unemployment trends. “If you look at all three areas as a whole – we are a cohesive region, we shop at the same stores, go to the same churches – the [individual rates] are not where we want them to be." Once he saw the combined locality data, Freiling said the numbers were better than he expected.

“If you could complement this with encouraging housing data, you’d have something.”

The reduction follows a similar trend over the winter months, when nearly all the localities in all the months showed drops in unemployment rates compared to the year previous.