Virginia’s unemployment rate was 2.9 percent in October, up slightly from last October’s jobless rate. The Virginia Unemployment Commission says rate was up from last October’s rate of 2.7 percent, the lowest rate in seven years, but well below the national October unemployment of 4.4 percent. It rose 0.1 percent from September’s level. The VEC attributed the September-to-October increase to dry weather reducing crop yields and fewer jobs in crop-processing this year, along with the layoffs of several hundred mortgage-banking workers. Twenty-eight localities had low unemployment – between 2.1 percent and 2.5 percent. Martinsville had the state’s highest unemployment, at 7.6
percent, but it declined from September’s 8.8 percent rate.