Hundreds more Arlington County residents began seeking work in March as federal layoffs continue to drive a region-wide surge in unemployment, new data shows.
A total of 4,929 Arlington residents were counted as without jobs and seeking work in March, the Virginia Employment Commission reported yesterday (Tuesday). That’s up 16% from the 4,249 recorded in February, and up a hefty 60% from 3,116 in March 2024.
Arlington’s overall unemployment rate increased to 3.2%, up from 2.8% in February and 2% a year ago. Virginia’s March unemployment rate is also 3.2%.
Arlington typically records some of the lowest unemployment rates among Virginia’s 133 cities and counties. In March 2024, the statewide unemployment rate was 2.6%, 0.6% higher than Arlington’s.
The local data tracks with jobless rates across Northern Virginia and appears to confirm business leaders’ fears about region’s economic trajectory.
“Our economy is being reordered by the reduction in federal spending and procurement,” Julie Coons, president of the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce, told ARLnow.
As of March, the unemployment rate stands at 3.1% in Loudoun County, 3.2% in both Fairfax County and Alexandria, and 3.3% in Prince William County. Fauquier County, on the periphery of the D.C. area, recorded a rate of 2.8%.
The state unemployment number rose from 124,266 in March 2024 to 151,323 in February and 157,134 in March. This is a 3.8% month-over-month increase and a 26.5% jump year-over-year.
A recent survey of Northern Virginia business leaders from the communications agency Pinkston found that 59% of them believe the region’s economy is likely to decline over the next six months, while only 21% believe it will grow.
Around 50% of respondents in the second-quarter Business Leader Survey said they think the Trump administration’s tariffs will probably cause their companies to decline, while only around 15% expect their companies to grow as a result of the increased costs of imported goods.
The Northern Virginia Regional Commission estimates that approximately 12% of Northern Virginia residents are employed in the federal government.
“The federal government budgetary cutback and job layoffs that the new presidential administration began implementing in January 2025 will have deep economic impacts on the region,” the regional body says.
The surge in unemployment comes as no surprise to people trying to support local residents seeking work.
The Arlington Employment Center, operated by the county government, reported a 45% increase in the number of people using its services in March.
The employment center offers a jobs board, which has more than 400 opportunities available.
Across the D.C. metro area, the March unemployment rate of 3.5% was up from 3.4% a month before and 2.9% a year ago, according to new figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The 125,867 metro-area residents counted as unemployed in that report represent an uptick of 3.6% from a month before and nearly 24% from a year ago.
Year-over-year unemployment rates were higher in March than a year earlier in 279 of the nation’s 387 metropolitan areas. The national unemployment rate in March was 4.2%, up from 3.9% a year earlier.
