Interactive graphic
Layoff notices seem to be coming daily lately, and unemployment is climbing, sharply in some cases. Use the interactive fever chart below to track unemployment rates in the Roanoke and New River Valleys since January 1990, and compare them to the Virginia and U.S. rates in the same period. Scroll over the graphic to see the numbers, and use the menu on the left to add lines to the chart.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Last Updated: 1/29/2009
Unemployment and recession: Unemployment is almost always a lagging indicator of a recession, meaning a recession is well under way before companies begin to shed workers.
1981-82 recession (July ’81-November ’82)
* Previous longest recession since Great Depression of 1930s.
* Unlike today, interest rates spiked during this recession, making it extremely expensive to borrow money.
* Economy rebounded into a 92-month expansion that lasted until the early 1990s.
1990 recession (July ’90-March ’91)
* Employment statewide shrank 3.2 percent during the eight-month recession. Roanoke’s employment shrank 3.7 percent and Blacksburg’s declined 4.6 percent.
* Nationally, unemployment peaked 15 months after the trough, or deepest point of decline in economic activity.
2001 recession (March ’01-November ’01)
* The combination of the technology-stocks bubble bursting and the post-Sept. 11 attacks slowdown caused a 2.2 percent decline in employment statewide. Job losses were felt more in the Roanoke metro area (5.4 percent) than the Blacksburg area (3.7 percent).
