Fairfax County’s unemployment rate held steady from September to October, part of a generally flat trend across the region as summer gave way to autumn.
With 646,247 counted in the civilian workforce and 17,181 looking for jobs, Fairfax’s unemployment rate was 2.6 percent in October, according to figures reported Nov. 30 by the Virginia Employment Commission.
The flat October unemployment rate was mirrored by slight or no movement in rates throughout much of the rest of Northern Virginia. Jobless rates stood at 2.2 percent in Arlington, unchanged from a month before; 2.4 percent in Alexandria, unchanged; also 2.4 percent in Falls Church, down from 2.5 percent; 2.6 percent in Loudoun County, down from 2.7 percent; and 2.8 percent in Prince William County, down from 2.9 percent.
For Northern Virginia as a whole, just over 1.7 million were counted in the civilian workforce in October, with about 46,300 looking for jobs. The resulting 2.6 percent unemployment rate was down from 2.7 percent a month before and unchanged from October 2023.
Among Virginia’s 133 cities and counties, Arlington had the lowest unemployment rate, followed by Madison County (2.3%) and four jurisdictions tied at 2.4 percent. Petersburg (5.3%) and Martinsville (4.6%) had the highest rates.
Month-over-month unemployment rates were up in 51 Virginia localities, down in 40 and unchanged in 42. A total of 59 localities reported jobless rates of less than 3 percent, with 14 higher than 4 percent.
October 2023 figures are preliminary and are subject to revision.
Region’s Unemployment Up Month-Over-Month, Down Year-Over-Year: The Washington region’s unemployment rate for October bumped up a tick from a month before but was down from a year ago, according to figures reported Nov. 30 by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
With 3,512,514 recorded as employed in the civilian workforce and 95,367 looking for work, the unemployment rate was 2.7 percent in October, up from 2.6 percent a month before but down from 3 percent in October 2022.
Nationally, year-over-year jobless rates were up in 223 of the 389 metro areas; down in 137; and unchanged in 29. In addition, 228 metro areas had rates lower than the national average of 3.6 percent, while 145 had rates above it and 24 had rates equal to it.
Six metro areas had October jobless rates of less than 2 percent, with three having rates above 8 percent.
Bismarck, N.D., recorded the nation’s lowest metro-area jobless rate (1.4%) followed by Fargo, N.D. (1.5%). El Centro, Calif., had the highest rate (19.3%).
Among the 51 metro areas with populations of more than a million, Baltimore and Birmingham (2.2% each) had the lowest rate, with Las Vegas (5.4%) having the highest.
In Virginia, October’s unemployment rate of 3 percent represented 4.61 million in the workforce and just over 136,702 looking for jobs. That rate was unchanged from a month before and up from 2.9 percent a year ago.
Among the commonwealth’s metro areas outside Northern Virginia, Winchester and Charlottesville shared the lowest unemployment rate in the state (2.6%) with Lynchburg having the highest (3.5%).
In terms of non-farm payroll employment, totals were up in 52 metro areas and essentially unchanged in the remaining 337.
The New York City region (+165,300) had the largest year-over-year workforce increase, followed by Dallas-Fort Worth (+148,700) and Los Angeles (+111,300). In terms of percentage increase, Charleston, S.C., was up 6.1 percent, followed by Midland, Texas, at 5.1 percent, and Boise City, Idaho, at 4.5 percent.
All October 2023 figures are preliminary and are subject to revision.
