October revenue collections ticked up 3.7 percent in Virginia over the previous year though total collections for the year so far still trail financial forecasts, Gov. Bob McDonnell announced Friday.
The October growth was driven by increases in withholding and sales taxes.
Total revenue collections for the year so far are still down 0.4 percent, lagging behind the annual forecast of 2.6 percent growth, according to a memo from Finance Secretary Richard Brown.
McDonnell noted that October marked the seventh month in the last eight that the state has seen a year-over-year increase in revenue collections, and that the state’s 6.8 percent unemployment is the eighth lowest in the country.
“Clearly, these are signs of a modest turnaround in Virginia’s economy,” he said. “However, this continues to be a very tough and uncertain economy, and far too many Virginians continue to be out of work. These pieces of good news do not erase the clouds of uncertainty that still hang over our economic landscape. Together, working across party lines, we must continue to identify and implement every possible policy that will spur economic growth and private-sector job creation.”
