Virginia is adding jobs, and that growth is happening across all parts of the commonwealth. But some parts are growing much faster than others.

Michael Pope is looking at the numbers.

Charlottesville has the hottest job growth in Virginia, with a 4.2% growth in employment compared to last year, according to numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

John Provo at Virginia Tech says Charlottesville and other areas have a growing workforce.

"When you look at the areas that have the highest growth — Charlottesville, Winchester, Staunton, Arlington, Alexandria — you’re looking at areas that are either at the heart of or on the edges of the highest growth parts of Virginia.”

But there’s an outlier. Not every part of Virginia is going gangbusters.

“The one exception to that would be Hampton Roads, which really carries a lot of legacy issues relative to the slowdown in the defense economy that we were experiencing a couple of years ago.”

Add to that the uncertainty in trade, and the forecast is not clear for Hampton Roads. It’s still growing. But employment in Hampton Roads increased only 1% in the last year — not nearly as fast as other metropolitan parts of the state.

This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.