Gloucester County continues to see improvement in its economy following the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to August unemployment figures released last week by the Virginia Employment Commission, the unemployment rate in August is 3.2 percent, down from 3.3 percent in July.

Also, the number of unemployed county residents in August was 608, down from 633 in July.

“The numbers continue to decrease, indicating that our residents are finding new job opportunities,” said Sherry Spring, Gloucester’s Economic Development Director. “The really good news is that we are getting closer to our lowest unemployment rate of 2.5 percent, which was the rate before COVID-19 hit in March of 2020.”

In April 2020, Gloucester’s unemployment rate had climbed to 10.2 percent as the pandemic forced some businesses to lay off their employees.

Spring added that Gloucester’s August unemployment rate remains lower than the statewide rate of 3.8 percent, and the rate of the Hampton Roads re...