economy | FFXnow

Published August 29, 2025 at 9:15AM

Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaking at the Capital One headquarters in Tysons on Feb. 24, 2025 (staff photo by James Jarvis)

While Virginia’s unemployment rate has been ticking up for months, the state’s Republican leadership contends the jobless rate is just one piece of a larger, more complex economic puzzle.

“Virginia has jobs,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in an Aug. 19 statement accompanying the latest batch of state employment figures. “This month’s reports reflect modest payroll growth, continued positive revisions in recent months, and strong labor force demand, reinforcing the resilience of Virginia’s job market.”

News

Fairfax home prices higher in July, but housing market saw other signs of cooling

By Scott McCaffrey

Published August 13, 2025 at 10:00AM

Home for sale sign (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

Sales were down overall, but average prices were up in all three market segments, as the Fairfax County real estate market moved through the summer under challenging economic conditions.

A total of 1,144 properties went to closing in July, according to new figures from the Bright MLS multiple-listing service. That’s down 5% from 1,220 transactions in July 2024.

Countywide

High-end home sales outperform overall market across D.C. region, new data shows

By Scott McCaffrey

Published August 12, 2025 at 8:30AM

The home shown at left on Crest Lane in McLean was the most expensive residential property sold in the Mid-Atlantic during the second quarter of 2025 (via Washington Fine Properties)

The Fairfax area’s luxury housing sector is holding up slightly better than the overall real estate market, according to a new data analysis.

Sales prices for the top 5% of the D.C. region’s market increased 2.3% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2025, according to a new report issued by multiple-listing service Bright MLS.

Countywide

Number of Fairfax residents looking for work is up by a third from 2024

By Scott McCaffrey

Published August 5, 2025 at 1:45PM

Employment and jobs picture (via Creative Campalgn/Unsplash)

The number of Fairfax County residents seeking employment is up by a third year-over-year in new state data, as Northern Virginia continues to grapple with the Trump administration’s slashing of federal government jobs.

A total of 23,561 county residents were reported as looking for work in June’s unemployment figures, provided to FFXnow by state officials on Monday (Aug. 4).

News

Dulles now tops JFK for nonstop gateway flights to African nations

By Scott McCaffrey

Published July 23, 2025 at 3:45PM

Nonstop flights from Dulles to Africa (via MWAA)

A post-Covid boom in international travel has put Dulles International Airport atop a ranking for service to Africa.

The local airport, which sits on the border of Loudoun and Fairfax counties, has now surpassed John F. Kennedy International in New York for the most nonstop destinations to the continent, with eight cities to JFK’s six.

Countywide

Fairfax business leaders double down on AI as region’s economic future

By Vernon Miles

Published July 22, 2025 at 10:00AM | Updated July 28, 2025 at 11:30AM

David Metric, managing director of Accenture Management Consulting (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

As federal worker layoffs drive up unemployment, a new roadmap to reshaping the regional economy, proposed by local business leaders, says Northern Virginia will have to reinvent its economy if it hopes to succeed.

The Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce (NVC) and consulting firm Accenture released the NOVA Roadmap yesterday (Monday) at a press conference, calling it a “bold, actionable vision to reimagine the region’s economy.”

News

New master plan for Dulles Airport envisions growth to 90 million annual passengers

By Scott McCaffrey

Published July 17, 2025 at 2:45PM

Washington Dulles International Airport development plan (via MWAA)

A 230% increase in passengers — to 90 million per year — is planned for Dulles International Airport later toward the end of the 21st century.

That aspirational figure was contained in the new master plan for the airport, approved Wednesday (July 16) by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) board of directors.

Countywide

N. Va. business leaders report impacts from federal spending cuts in new survey

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 17, 2025 at 9:15AM

The Mitre headquarters in Tysons (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Despite continued concerns about inflation, federal worker layoffs and other issues, business leaders in Northern Virginia are feeling more upbeat about their own economic prospects and those of the region than they were this spring, a new survey found.

The Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce (NVC) worked with the marketing firm Pinkston to survey 135 corporate executives and business owners about their experiences with the Trump administration’s efforts to downsize the federal government, their expectations for the near-future and their policy priorities.

Countywide

Fairfax County leaders sound alarm on ‘staggering’ rise in unemployment

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 16, 2025 at 11:45AM | Updated July 16, 2025 at 6:07PM

Federal employment in the D.C. region from 1990 to May 1, 2025 (via Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments)

Fairfax County’s top elected officials at the state and local level united this morning (Wednesday) to urge Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration to provide more support for fired federal workers.

In a joint statement, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Jeff McKay and Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-34), who represents southeastern Fairfax, pinned the “staggering rise in unemployment” across the county on “the reckless policies of Donald Trump” and the “complicity” of Virginia’s Republican leaders.

Countywide

Number of unemployed Fairfax residents reaches a level not seen since mid-2021

By Scott McCaffrey

Published July 14, 2025 at 1:45PM

Virginia unemployment rate from June 2023 through May 2025 (via Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement)

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.