The CIA is hiring, though its recruiters can’t comment in detail on why.
The McLean-based intelligence agency joined over 65 other employers at the University of Virginia’s Northern Virginia campus in Merrifield last month for a career fair that drew hundreds of college students as well as recent (and not-so-recent) graduates, all of them scrambling for a foothold in an uncertain economy.
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.”
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).
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.
Local economic development organizations have joined forces to launch a comprehensive initiative aimed at assisting federal employees, contractors and other professionals facing career disruptions.
“The Pivot” is an initiative of the Northern Virginia Economic Development Alliance, which includes the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority.
Three Fairfax County-based businesses have made a list of the top 100 firms nationally where young Americans would be willing to work free for a year, in hopes of landing a full-time position.
Tysons-based Capital One placed 39th on the ranking, with Tysons’ Hilton coming in at #46 and Vienna-based Navy Federal Credit Union #55.
Regional leaders seem to agree that they must cooperate and coordinate in an effort to blunt impacts of Trump administration’s gutting of the federal workforce.
But that may not be so simple in a region where jurisdictions across the D.C. metropolitan area typically have competed, rather than collaborated, to achieve economic development goals.
Contractors in Fairfax County appear to be feeling the effects of the Trump administration’s ongoing campaign to slash federal funding.
Mitre Corporation will lay off 442 employees primarily at its Tysons headquarters campus on June 3, while Reston-based Leidos will eliminate 29 workers based in its Lincolnia office, effective May 30, according to notices that both companies filed this week with the Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement.
The Fairfax County Police Department has a message for those affected by the Trump administration’s downsizing of the federal government: Come check us out.
The department launched a dedicated recruitment initiative on Tuesday (April 1) “aimed at hiring experienced professionals seeking stable and rewarding career opportunities in public safety.”
Local colleges have joined the rush to support workers affected by the Trump administration’s broad purge of the federal government’s ranks.
Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA), the biggest public higher education institution in Virginia, launched a NOVA New Employment, Exploration and Transition program (NOVAnext) on Wednesday (March 12) that will give laid-off federal workers and contractors free access to select classes and employment workshops.
