Employment in Hampton Roads increased by 1,300 jobs in May, according to a recent Hampton Roads Planning District Commission report.

James Clary, the commission’s senior economist, said that the increase followed a decline of 3,000 jobs in this region in April.

“Hampton Roads employment numbers have moved up and down from month to month,” Clary said, “but the overall level has been relatively flat for the past 18 months.”

This region’s jobs picture “parallels Virginia as a whole, which has seen no growth in employment over the past 16 months,” Clary said. The flat state performance comes “while the nation continues to experience steady growth since the end of the recession,” he said. Since May 2013, U.S. employment has grown consistently (1.75 percent), Virginia’s employment has barely grown (0.07 percent), and Hampton Roads’ figure has declined slightly (minus 0.22 percent).

The only industry sectors posting s...