Unemployment rates in Virginia are still high -- bad news for the housing market, which has been slow and appears likely to remain so until people who want work can find it. Virginia homeowners have collectively seen billions in equity wiped out in this recession, and experts agree the market won't fully recover until jobless rate subsides. Read more below....

• 7,100 jobs lost in area in January (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• Area unemployment rises, following yearly trend (The Staunton News Leader)
• Valley unemployment rate jumps to 8.6 percent (Northern Virginia Daily)
• Local jobless rate soars (The Culpeper Star-Exponent)
• Region's jobless rate jumps to 8% in January (The Daily Press)
• City jobless rate at 21.6 percent (Martinsville Bulletin)
• City unemployment rates jumps to 2-decade high (The Charlottesville Daily Progress)