Danville-area jobless rate drops

Danville-area joblessness showed marked improvement in September, dropping a percentage point from August, according to the latest figures from the Virginia Employment Commission.

The Danville-Pittsylvania County metropolitan area saw an 11.4-percent unemployment rate last month, one percentage point less than the August rate of 12.4 percent. The figure for September 2008 was 7.4 percent.

Bill Mezger, chief economist with the VEC’s Economic Information Services Division, attributed the dip in joblessness to fewer layoffs and the end of summer furloughs. Another factor was increased retail and farm activity associated with the harvest, Mezger said.

The unemployment rate for the commonwealth inched up from 6.5 percent in August to 6.6 percent in September. Virginia unemployment was 4.1 percent in September 2008. The slight uptick in joblessness resulted from high-school and college students in the Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads metro areas looking for after-school work, Mezger said.

The city of Danville’s unemployment rate for September was 13 percent, the fifth-highest in the state, compared to 14.3 percent in August and 8.6 percent in September 2008.

Pittsylvania County had the 15th-highest jobless figure last month at 10.3 percent, down from 11.1 percent in August. The county’s rate was 6.6 percent in September 2008.

Martinsville had the commonwealth’s highest rate of joblessness last month with 20 percent out of work, down from 20.8 percent in August. Martinsville’s unemployment figure in September 2008 was 12.2 percent.