At the start of 2020, the CSPDC’s unemployment rate was below 3%. Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic began to impact industries and their workforce in March and by April, CSPDC localities experienced sharp unemployment increases. At 20.8%, Bath County had the highest April unemployment rate in Virginia. As all CSPDC localities showed an increase from March to April, they also reported a decrease in their unemployment rate from April to May. The CSPDC’s unemployment rate in May, the most recent data available, was 8.5%, below both the unemployment rate for Virginia (9.2%) and the United States (13.0%).