Federal workforce cuts implemented by the Trump administration and, as of July 8, enabled by the U.S. Supreme Court have helped drive the number of unemployed Fairfax County residents to heights not seen in nearly four years.
A total of 21,705 county residents were counted as unemployed in May, according to new data reported by the Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement. That’s up 35% from a year before.
May’s total unemployment rate of 3.3% is higher than the 20,609 residents reported as unemployed in April and 21,162 in March. A year before — in May 2024 — the county unemployment rate stood at 2.5% and the number of jobless at 16,108.
The number of residents counted as unemployed this May was most since August 2021, when 22,600 residents faced unemployment.
By then, the pandemic-era economic freefall had begun to self-correct from the depths reached in April 2020, when 62,674 county residents (10.3% of the workforce) were on the unemployment roster.
For several years before the pandemic, Fairfax and other areas of Northern Virginia had been enjoying record-low jobless rates. Before that, there had been peaks and valleys.
In January 2010, as the region and national dealt with the after-effects of an economic downturn caused by the bursting of the real-estate bubble in the late 2000s, there were 33,170 county residents unemployed, about 5.5% of the workforce.
Fairfax is not alone in seeing increasing numbers of those needing jobs in 2025. The number of unemployed in Arlington in May was the largest in nearly four years, while in Falls Church, it was highest in almost five years.
Statewide, in May 2025, unemployment stood at 160,990 (3.5%), marking the fifth consecutive month of incremental increases.
Virginia’s modern-day jobless peak came at the onset of Covid-related closures in April 2020, when 513,715 state residents were reported as unemployed, representing 11.9% of the commonwealth’s workforce.
In a June statement, state officials chose to focus on an increase reported in total statewide nonfarm employment for the month, rather than the tick up in unemployment. Total May employment, reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, was up 1,200 month-over-month and 49,400 year-over-year.
“The growth in nonfarm payroll employment shows that Virginia’s labor market remains resilient, and we are committed to equipping our workforce with the tools they need to succeed,” state Secretary of Labor Bryan Slater said.
He called “the slight increase in the unemployment rate and decrease in labor force … indications that we must continue to support workforce participation.”
On July 11, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced grant funding for two initiatives: “Facilitating Career Pivots into High-Demand Occupations” and “Investing in Workforce Development Innovation for the Future of the Commonwealth.” They are part of the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act.
“Virginia has jobs, and each of these proposals improves opportunities for jobseekers in the Commonwealth,” Youngkin said in a statement. “We look forward to working with each of the awardees to tackle important aspects of workforce development.”
McLean-based Virginia Career Works Northern is among those receiving a $150,000 grant toward assisting job seekers impacted by federal staff reductions in switching careers, and matching job seekers with entry and mid-level positions in high-demand occupations.
