Roanoke, Virginia Unemployment
The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Roanoke fell 0.1 percentage points in February 2021 to 5.1%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.1 percentage points lower than the Virginia rate. The unemployment rate in Roanoke peaked in April 2020 at 10.9% and is now 5.8 percentage points lower. From a post peak low of 4.8% in December 2020, the unemployment rate has now grown by 0.3 percentage points. You can also compare Roanoke unemployment with unemployment in other cities.
| Unemployment Rate | February 2021 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| National | 6.2% | -0.1 | +2.7 |
| Virginia | 5.2% | -0.1 | +2.7 |
| Roanoke | 5.1% | -0.1 | +2.4 |
Unemployment Rate: Roanoke, Virginia, National
Note: Recessions shown in gray.
Roanoke, Virginia Unemployed
The number of people unemployed in Roanoke peaked in April 2020 at 16,889. There are now 9,082 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. From a recent trough of 7,306 in December 2020, the number of unemployed has now grown by 501. Roanoke employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in Roanoke, Virginia) is also available.
| Unemployed Persons | February 2021 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roanoke | 7,807 | -162 | +3,435 |
Number of Unemployed Persons
Roanoke, Virginia Unemployment History
| Date | National Unemployment Rate |
Virginia Unemployment Rate |
Roanoke Unemployment Rate |
Roanoke Unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2021 |
6.0% | — | — | — |
| February 2021 |
6.2% | 5.2% | 5.1% | 7,807 |
| January 2021 |
6.3% | 5.3% | 5.2% | 7,969 |
| December 2020 |
6.7% | 5.6% | 4.8% | 7,306 |
| November 2020 |
6.7% | 5.8% | 4.9% | 7,434 |
| October 2020 |
6.9% | 6.1% | 5.1% | 7,683 |
| September 2020 |
7.8% | 6.6% | 5.9% | 9,006 |
| August 2020 |
8.4% | 7.0% | 5.9% | 9,152 |
| July 2020 |
10.2% | 7.9% | 7.6% | 11,736 |
| June 2020 |
11.1% | 8.8% | 7.9% | 11,817 |
| May 2020 |
13.3% | 8.5% | 9.2% | 13,984 |
| April 2020 |
14.8% | 11.3% | 10.9% | 16,889 |
1. Metro area unemployment rates are now seasonally adjusted. The BLS has started publishing smoothed seasonally adjusted metropolitan area data which makes comparisons to state and national data more relevant than the unadjusted numbers. ↩
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