Overall unemployment rate moved down to 2.1% with the biggest shift in Government, which lost 500 roles, based on the most recently available information published in February 2022.
Total employment in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA market declined by 847 jobs in December and the unemployment rate decreased compared to the prior month by 10 bps to 2.1%. The national unemployment rate decreased by 20 bps over the same time to 3.7%.
- Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA unemployment rate is 159 bps below the national rate which is a positive sign.
- Unemployment in the market is 270 bps below the unemployment rate in the market last year at this time, which is a positive.
- Average wages (per hour) declined in December versus prior month by -2.2% and are down compared to last year at this time in the market.
For key employment segments of the market, total jobs declined by -1.9%. Key sectors include:
- Government: 26,500; -500
Data is based on the most recent 12 months available, through December 2021 (Data published February 2022 and reports created on February 4, 2022). Source: Government data agency and locally acquired statistics.
Note: All reported data is not seasonally adjusted.