People like Percy Bell appear to be having an easier time finding work as unemployment returns to levels of nine years ago and employers begin to strain to fill openings.

Despite being homeless since his release from jail in November, the 48-year-old Richmond man just snagged a job as a full-time dishwasher at a Downtown restaurant that is paying him more than $9 an hour.

“I didn’t have any problem finding a job,” Mr. Bell said. “I had one and got let go and found this one the next day. If this works out, maybe I’ll be able to pay rent and get off the street. That’s my biggest challenge — finding a place to live.”

The latest state figures show why employers are now looking at candidates they might have turned away a few years ago.

According to the Virginia Employment Commission, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate statewide dropped to 4 percent in January among people active in the labor market. That’s down slightly from December and a return to low levels of July 2008 when the Great Recession hit.

In Richmond, the VEC reported slightly higher unemployment of 4.7 percent. That translates to 5,407 people seeking jobs out of the 114,149 people in the city’s labor force.

While that unemployment level in Richmond essentially has remained unchanged during the past 12 months, it is a big improvement compared with the 10-year average of 6.8 percent unemployment, which meant that 8,000 people were struggling to find work — about 2,600 more than the current number.

The relatively low levels of unemployment show up in the reductions in the cost of unemployment insurance that companies pay because fewer people are being laid off and filing for benefits.

But it also means smaller pools of applicants for jobs. The potential problems some employers face in seeking to fill openings can be found in figures related to the VEC’s online Virginia Workforce Connection program that seeks to link potential employers with job seekers.

The latest data indicated that nearly 13,000 job openings were posted in the Richmond area, but only 16,000 applicants were listed, meaning there is no apparent surplus of people vying for the positions.

Growth continues to be seen in areas ranging from hotels to health care and finance to transportation.

Competition for people to fill positions is expected to increase in the city based on recent announcements of companies moving in that are paying high salaries and seeking hundreds of new employees.

That should impact people on the low end like Mr. Bell. Companies that for years could get by paying just the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour are finding that people have other options and might need higher pay to accept a position cleaning floors, making beds, serving as cashiers or handling other basic tasks in restaurants, stores and other outlets.

Signs outside retailers advertising openings reflect the struggle some companies are facing.

And it also means that companies desperate for people to fill slots might have to start looking at the pool of people with criminal records who are desperate for a chance to show what they can do as they seek to rebuild their lives.