Arlington ended 2025 with 23% more residents unemployed than at the start of the year.
In December, 4,676 Arlington County residents were looking for jobs and 147,611 were employed in the civilian workforce, equating to a 3.1% unemployment rate. That’s a sharp increase from January 2025, when 3,814 were unemployed for a jobless rate of 2.5%.
This is according to data from the Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement. Reporting of December locality figures was delayed, likely owing to the aftermath of the seven-week government shutdown in the fall.
The county’s 3.1% December jobless rate was a decline from 3.6% in November. That rate had tied with August as the highest for the county since mid-2021, when the nation remained impacted by Covid.
Across most of Northern Virginia, a similar trajectory played out over the past year. Unemployment rates for December, while lower than some recent months, were well above figures at the start of 2025 — before the Trump administration implemented its wave of federal-government cutbacks.
In neighboring Falls Church, the year closed out with a 3.8% unemployment rate, with 7,953 city residents in the workforce and 316 looking for jobs.
December’s jobless figure in Falls Church was down from the year-high 4.3% recorded in November.
In Fairfax County, the jobless rate of 3.3% in December was down from 3.8% in November. The 3.8% rate, also reached in August, represented the highest in the county since 3.9% in July 2021.
The number of those counted as unemployed in Fairfax during December — 21,181 — was up 19% from 17,744 during the start of 2025.
In Alexandria, December’s jobless rate of 3.3% was down from 3.8% in November but up from 2.7% at the start of 2025. The number of unemployed between the start and end of the year grew 20% to 3,282, according to state data.
Across the Northern Virginia portion of the D.C. metro area, December’s jobless rate of 3.3% represented 1,684,236 with jobs and 56,706 looking for work.
That was down from a yearly high of 3.8% in November, but was up from 3% at the start of 2025.
Northern Virginia figures represent Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun counties and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church.
Statewide, the year closed with a 3.4% unemployment rate in December, representing 4,337,005 Virginians in the civilian workforce and 153,029 looking for jobs.
That was an improvement from the 3.9% unemployment rate recorded in November, which tied with August for the highest during the year.
But it was well above the 3% rate of January 2025, when Virginia had 4,464,004 in the workforce and 137,057 looking for work.
All figures represent non-seasonally adjusted figures. All December 2025 figures are preliminary and are subject to revision.
