Valley jobless rate dips below state average
By Katie O’Dowd and Dominic Desmond, senior writer & news editor
Posted on September 5, 2006

The overall unemployment rate for Virginia stayed the same over the months of June and July, resting at just over 3 percent. In Harrisonburg, however, the jobless rate actually decreased by 3.2 percent. Still, some are having a hard time getting a job.

“I’d love to be part of that percentage,” said senior Suzy Blevins. She has applied for several jobs and has still not had any luck.

“Right now, I’m relying on the parental units,” she said. Blevins said her parents are more concerned about her getting a job than she is.

The 0.1 of a percent decrease for both is average for the area during this time of the year, according to Taylor Howell, the Harrisonburg office manager for the VEC.

“The [unemployment rate] always bumps up a bit in June because you have a lot of people coming into the labor market with students getting out of school,” he said. “It takes a couple of weeks to absorb some of those people, but it’s not a problem in this area because service and retail offer a lot of entry-level positions.”

JMU and the student community help fuel the local job economy. “As far as jobs, there’s some significance because a lot of students work part-time jobs,” Howell said.

But perhaps the biggest contributing factor is the demand for services. “The bigger picture is most of the student body are consumers, buying goods and services,” he said. “The student body plays in more than anything else by demanding services because there are always people who will respond.”

The university offers many job opportunities and currently has 2,329 full-time employees, said Jennifer Campfield, JMU’s recruitment services team leader. “In general, we have grown our employee base this year compared to last year due to positive budget support from the state.”

Howell said Harrisonburg’s unemployment rate has generally been lower than 3.5 percent since October 1996. “Harrisonburg has a healthy economy with manufacturing, services, retail and construction,” he said. “There is a very diversified workforce and product mix in the area.”

Harrisonburg’s proximity to Interstate 81 also influences the area employment. “For better or worse, Harrisonburg is right on 81,” Howell said. “It’s the regional shopping center for this part of the state and is still growing every day."