Culpeper County’s unemployment rate has reached an 18-year high.
The county’s unemployment rate for January was 9.2 percent, according to the latest, seasonally unadjusted figures released Wednesday by the Virginia Employment Commission.
It hasn’t been that high since 1992, when the unemployment rate in January was 10.7 percent.
Culpeper County’s unemployment rate in December was 7.9 percent.
“It does concern me,” said Peter Mocarski, longtime manager of the Culpeper VEC office. “This is still better than where we were in 1992.”
He attributed the 1.3 percent month-over-month increase in January to after-holiday layoffs and the snowy winter, which kept road work to a minimum. Of course, the sluggish economy and slow job growth are factors in the rising unemployment.
The Culpeper VEC office logged 2,100 visitors in January, Mocarski said, making it one of the busiest months ever. He noted some folks are able to stay on unemployment longer due to federal extensions — up to two years in some cases, based on the amount of money they earned and for how long when they were first laid off.
Locally, the construction trade and related industries continue to be hard hit, Mocarski said, pointing out a positive from a larger perspective —the five-county Culpeper area is tied for having the third-lowest unemployment rate, per planning district, in the state at 7.7 percent.
Statewide in January, the unemployment rate was 7.6 percent.
Nationally, in February, it was at 9.7 percent.
Culpeper led the five-county area for unemployment in January followed by Orange (9 percent), Madison (7.2 percent), Rappahannock (7 percent) and Fauquier (6.5 percent).
In January, 1,908 Culpeper residents collected unemployment benefits compared to 1,642 in December, according to the VEC.
In the five counties, 6,595 were on unemployment in January.
“Our out-commuters are still commuting,” Mocarski said. “But our live here/work here jobs — service, retail, manufacturing — are on the weak side.”
He said the Culpeper area is making a slow, but steady recovery overall, offering a general take on the economy.
“We didn’t get here overnight and we are not going to get out of it overnight,” Mocarski said.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement