Manassas Park Unemployment Rate Lower than Closest Neighboring Jurisdictions

Manassas Park’s most recent unemployment numbers are slightly lower than those of its closest neighbors, Prince William County and Manassas city, according to the data released by the Virginia Employment Commission.

 The agency reported a seasonal adjusted unemployment rate of 4.7 percent for Manassas Park for May. Unemployment figures for June will not be released until July 22, Don Lillywhite, the research director for the Virginia Employment Commission said.

 The Prince William County unemployment rate is 5.1 percent while the rate for Manassas city is 5.9, just one-tenth of a point lower than the Commonwealth average of six percent.

Lillywhite said Manassas Park’s low unemployment rate can be attributed to it being in Northern Virginia.

 “Northern Virginia is the engine that runs the state," he said. "It’s a huge commuting area impacted by federal government.  They are commuting to major job centers. The long and the short of it is that it’s in a pretty darn good area.”

People in Northern Virginia work in high-tech areas and for the military, something other cities in Virginia don’t have, he said.

 The May 2011 state unemployment rate of six percent is one percent lower than what was reported last May, according to the Virginia Employment Commission release.

The labor force continued to expand in May, increasing by 6,773. The ongoing gains in household employment continue to outweigh the losses in the number of unemployed, according to the release.

 The influx of college graduates and students looking for jobs in the spring is at least partially responsible for the unadjusted unemployment rate increased of two-tenths of a percent, from 5.8 percent in April to six percent in May.  May’s numbers were still eight-tenths of a percentage point lower than was reported for May 2010.