Fairfax County’s jobless rate dropped three-tenths of a percentage point from March to April, according to new state data, and stands among the lowest in the commonwealth.
With 644,873 residents counted with jobs in the civilian workforce and 14,021 looking for them, Fairfax’s unemployment rate of 2.1 percent in April was down from 2.4 percent in March, and was unchanged from a year before.
That’s according to figures reported May 31 by the Virginia Employment Commission.
Fairfax’s dip in joblessness was part of a general regional trend, with April’s month-over-month unemployment rates declining 2.1 percent to 1.9 percent in Arlington; from 2.4 percent to 2 percent in Falls Church; from 2.3 percent to 2.1 percent in Alexandria; from 2.5 percent to 2.1 percent in Loudoun County; and from 2.7 percent to 2.3 percent in Prince William County.
In Northern Virginia as a whole, the jobless rate of 2.2 percent in April was down from 2.5 percent in March, although up from 2.1 percent a year before.
Of Virginia’s 133 cities and counties, Arlington was tied with Highland and Madison counties for lowest jobless rate, with Falls Church and Poquoson tied for second lowest. The highest rates were found in the city of Petersburg (4.7%) and Northumberland County (4.4%).
Eighty-eight Virginia localities reported unemployment rates below 3 percent, while seven recorded rates above 4 percent, according to state officials.
Regional Joblessness Declines Year-Over-Year: The Washington metro area saw lower year-over-year joblessness in April, mirroring a national trend – though not a universal one – of ongoing improvement in post-COVID jobs data.
With 3,482,235 in the civilian workforce and 89,953 looking for work, the D.C. region’s jobless rate of 2.3 percent was down from 2.6 percent a year before, according to figures reported May 31 by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Washington region was among 252 of the nation’s 389 metro areas to see lower year-over-year joblessness. Rates were up in 103 areas, unchanged in 34.
A total of 224 metro areas had unemployment rates higher than April’s national average of 3.1 percent, with 148 above it and 17 equal to it.
The Dover and Manchester metropolitan areas of New Hampshire tied (1.1%) for lowest jobless rate in the nation in April, followed closely behind by Portsmouth, N.H. (1.2%). The highest rate was reported in El Centro, Calif. (14.1%).
Among the nation’s 51 metro areas with populations of more than a million, the lowest jobless rates were found in Birmingham (1.6%) and Baltimore (1.9%). The highest was reported in Las Vegas (5.5%).
In terms of non-farm employment, totals were up in 76 metro areas from a year before, down in one and essentially unchanged in the remaining 312.
Midland, Texas (up 8%) had the highest jump in employment, followed by Charleston, S.C. (6.4%). In terms of raw numbers, the New York City metro saw an increase of 246,500, followed by Dallas (179,000) and Los Angeles (148,000).
In Virginia, there were 4,569,561 employed in the civilian workforce and 112,319 looking for jobs in the April report, with the resulting unemployment rate of 2.5 percent up a tick from 2.4 percent a year before.
Winchester and Charlottesville (2.2% each) had the lowest jobless rates in the Old Dominion among metro areas in April, with Lynchburg (2.8%) having the highest.
