Fairfax County’s unemployment rate trended down in March, according to new state data, and much of the rest of Northern Virginia followed along.
With 644,213 residents employed in the civilian workforce and 13,649 looking for jobs, Fairfax’s unemployment rate of 2.1 percent in March was down from 2.5 percent a month before and 2.3 percent a year ago.
Figures were reported May 1 by the Virginia Employment Commission.
That trajectory generally was followed by other localities across Northern Virginia: Month-to-month jobless rates declined from 2.2 percent to 1.7 percent (a state low) in Arlington; from 2.2 percent to 1.9 percent in Falls Church; from 2.4 percent to 2 percent in Alexandria; from 2.6 percent to 2.2 percent in Loudoun County; and from 2.8 percent to 2.3 percent in Prince William County.
Across Northern Virginia as a whole, the overall jobless rate of 2.2 percent was down from 2.6 percent a month before and 2.5 percent a year ago. It represented just under 1.7 million in the civilian workforce and slightly less than 40,000 looking for jobs.
Across Virginia, jobless rates were down month-over-month in 129 counties, up in one and unchanged in three.
After Arlington, the lowest jobless rates were reported from Charlottesville (1.8%) and then six jurisdictions tied at 1.9 percent. The highest rates were found in Petersburg (5.2%), Emporia (4.8%) and Northumberland County (4.5%).
