While the unemployment rose slightly statewide for the month of March, a couple of areas in the New River Valley also saw an increase, while one county remained steady and another one dropped.

According to the latest figures just released by the Virginia Employment Commission, the jobless rate across the Commonwealth rose from 3.8 percent in February to 3.9 percent in March.

The United Auto Workers strike at the New River Volvo Plant, along with other strikes in the Midwestern U.S., caused layoffs at vehicle component producers in Virginia and elsewhere – pushing jobless rates up in some areas, such as Radford, Wythe, Russell and Scott Counties, according to William Mezger, chief economist with the VEC.

Both the City of Radford and Montgomery County saw increases in unemployment in the month of March.

The City of Radford tallied a rate of 4.9 percent with 360 people unemployed, up from 4.3 percent and 311 in February. In March of 2007, Radford had a 4.1 percent unemployment rate with 303 people out of work.

In Montgomery County, the unemployment rate rose from 3.6 percent in February to 3.8 percent in March. There were 1,657 unemployed in March compared to 1,589 in February. Unemployment figures from March 2007 showed 1,324 people jobless for 3.0 percent.

The unemployment rate remained steady in Pulaski County at 5.7 percent for March, which was also the same percentage rate in February. There were 1.052 people unemployed in March compared to 1,045 the previous month. In March 2007, Pulaski County saw 1,087 people unemployed for a 5.8 percent.

Mezger said the UAW strike was taking place at the Volvo plant during the reference week in March.

Mezger further added that striking workers are not counted as unemployed, but strikes do generally cause layoffs at various suppliers, which pushes the unemployment rate up.

Giles County saw a drop in its unemployment figures for March. There were 448 people unemployed in March for 5.2 percent compared to 466 in February for 5.4 percent. In March 2007, there were 399 people unemployed for 4.6 percent.

Arlington was once again the lowest in March unemployment at 2.3 percent , while the City of Martinsville remained the highest at 11.7 percent.

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