By JOHN REID BLACKWELL Richmond Times-Dispatch Virginiaâs unemployment rate continues to drop as the COVID-19 pandemic slowly recedes, but the job market still has some major issues along with an overall economy that is in flux. While the number of people who were reported as employed in Virginia jumped by more than 4,600 in April, the stateâs labor force also decreased by 12,422 to 4,225,614. The overall outlook from Virginiaâs April jobs report was âsomewhat downbeat,â said Joseph Mengedoth, a regional economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Virginiaâs unemployment rate stood at 4.7% in April, down 0.4% from March. That was well below the national jobless rate of 6.1%.