Fairfax County’s jobless rate ticked up from July to August but remained below the rate recorded in the locality a year ago.
That makes the county part of a trend across Northern Virginia jurisdictions, according to data reported Sept. 27 by the Virginia Employment Commission.
With 651,025 in the civilian workforce and 17,592 looking for jobs, Fairfax County’s unemployment rate was 2.6 percent for August. That compares to 2.3 percent in July and 2.8 percent in August 2022.
Elsewhere in Northern Virginia, jobless rates increased from 2 percent in July to 2.1 percent in August in Arlington; from 2.1 percent to 2.3 percent in Alexandria; from 2.3 percent to 2.7 percent in Loudoun County; from 2.5 percent to 2.7 percent in Falls Church; and from 2.5 percent to 2.9 percent in Prince William County.
For Northern Virginia as a whole, the jobless rate of 2.7 percent – representing about 1.72 million in the civilian workforce and about 47,400 looking for jobs – was up from 2.3 percent a month before but down from 2.9 percent a year ago.
Highland County (1.8%) had the lowest jobless rate in the commonwealth for August, with Arlington and Alexandria second and third, Madison County (2.4%) fourth and five localities tied at 2.5 percent.
Galax (5.9%), Petersburg (5.7%) and Lexington (5.3%) recorded the highest rates.
A total of 39 of Virginia’s 133 counties and cities posted jobless rates of 3 percent or less, with 21 recording 4 percent or more.
For August, Virginia’s jobless rate was 3.1 percent, while the national rate stood at 3.9 percent.
Many Areas Don’t, But D.C. Region Sees Lower Year-Over-Year Joblessness: Despite a plurality of U.S. metropolitan areas showing higher year-over-year unemployment in August, the Washington region posted a better result, according to new federal data.
With 3,524,971 in the civilian workforce and 93,214 looking for work, the month’s unemployment rate for the local region stood at 2.6 percent – up from 2.4 percent in July but down from 3.3 percent a year before.
The D.C. region was among 186 metro areas to post lower year-over-year jobless rates for the month. But in what might be a worrisome sign, a total of 189 metro areas reported higher unemployment. Fourteen had no change.
The national, non-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in August (3.9%) was essentially unchanged. Nationally, 221 metro areas remained below the national average, with 151 above it and 17 equal to it.
Among the nation’s 389 metro areas, the lowest jobless rates for the month were turned in by Bismarck, S.D. (1.5%) and Fargo, N.D. (1.6%) with the highest in El Centro, Calif. (19.7%) and Yuma, Ariz. (18.7%).
Among the 51 metro areas with populations of more than a million, Baltimore (1.8%) recorded the lowest jobless rate, with Las Vegas (6.1%) turning in the highest.
For the month, nine metro areas had jobless rates below 2 percent, while five had rates of more than 8 percent.
Virginia’s jobless rate of 3.1 percent was up from 2.7 percent a month before but down from 3.3 percent a year ago. Among the various metro areas in the commonwealth, jobless rates ranged from 2.7 percent in Staunton/Waynesboro to 3.7 percent in Lynchburg.
In terms of non-farm payroll employment, totals were up in 66 metro areas, down in one and essentially unchanged in 322.
In raw numbers, the largest year-over-year increases in non-farm jobs came in New York City (+208,200), Dallas-Forth Worth (+154,800) and Los Angeles (+142,400). On a percentage basis, Midland, Texas (5.3%) had the highest year-over-year growth rate, followed by Huntsville, Ala. (4.6%), and (at 4.5% each) Charleston, S.C.; Las Vegas; and Trenton, N.J.
