The Virginia Employment Commission reported Wednesday that the state's tally of jobless workers increased by an estimated 600 people between September and October to a total of about 172,900.

The October estimate is based on data collected Oct. 12 to 18.

Since then, several regional companies have announced the layoffs of hundreds of workers, but many of those job cuts will not take effect until 2009.

The commission said that strong fall employment in schools and other sectors "overrode, at least temporarily, rising jobless claims" and that holiday work typically boosts employment this time of year.

Thus, the state's unemployment rate for October was unchanged from September's rate of 4.2 percent, the VEC reported.

When compared with 2007, the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area's jobless rate rose from 3 percent to 4.1 percent. The Roanoke MSA includes the cities of Roanoke and Salem and the counties of Botetourt, Roanoke, Craig and Franklin.

The Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area's October numbers increased from a jobless rate of 3.3 percent in 2007 to 5.1 percent this year.

The state's highest unemployment rate in October was in Martinsville, at 12.7 percent. For years, manufacturing layoffs have hurt the city's economy.

-- Duncan Adams