The number of Arlington residents counted as unemployed spiked 51% year-over-year in newly released state jobs data.
A total of 5,370 Arlingtonians were recorded as seeking jobs in November, according to figures reported Wednesday (Jan. 21) by the Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement. That’s up from 3,561 in November 2024.
During that period, the county’s unemployment rate grew from 2.3% to 3.5%, in its eighth consecutive month above 3%.
In neighboring Falls Church, the year-over-year number of unemployed people spiked 63% in November, to 344. The city’s November unemployment rate rose from 2.5% in 2024 to 4.2% in 2025.
Surveys to determine local, state and national unemployment for October were not taken owing to the seven-week shutdown of the federal government.
Elsewhere in Northern Virginia:
- The number of people unemployed in Alexandria grew 46% to 3,723 while the year-over-year jobless rate rose from 2.5% to 3.8%
- In Fairfax County, the number of jobless residents was up 43% to 24,051 while the jobless rate rose from 2.6% to 3.8%
- In Loudoun County, the number of unemployed residents rose 41% to 8,953 while the unemployment rate grew from 2.5% to 3.6%
- In Prince William County, the number of jobless residents was up 38% to 9,958 while the jobless rate rose from 2.7% to 3.8%
Feds peg N. Va. jobless increase at 41%: The number of unemployed Northern Virginians grew 41% year-over-year in November 2025, according to new federal data.
A total of 65,357 residents of the Virginia portion of the D.C. metropolitan area were counted as unemployed for the month, according to figures released Jan. 16 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
That compares to the 46,381 residents tallied as seeking jobs in November 2024.
The November 2025 Northern Virginia unemployment rate of 3.7% was up from 2.6% a year before, according to the new figures. That increase was slightly lower than across the metro area as a whole.
For November, there were 158,736 D.C.-area residents counted as looking for work, up 47.7% from 107,504 a year before.
The 3% jobless rate for the metro area in November 2024 had grown to 4.5% in the November 2025 report.
Statewide jobless total grows 31%: Statewide, the number of Virginians counted as unemployed in November was 173,136, up 31.2% from 131,957 a year before, according to figures reported by the Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement.
November’s non-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate of 3.9% statewide was up from 2.9% a year before, according to state data.
Nationally, year-over-year jobless rates were higher in November in 259 metro areas, lower in 100 and unchanged in 28. The national, non-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in November was 4.3%, up from 4% a year previously, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Nationally, the lowest jobless rate for a metro area was turned in by Sioux Falls, S.D. (2%), with El Centro, Calif, recording the highest (20%).
Of the 56 metro areas with populations of more than a million, Honolulu had the lowest rate (2.3%) and Fresno the highest (8.1%).
Publication of November 2025 data by the Bureau of Labor Statistics was delayed due to the seven-week shutdown of the federal government last fall. October figures were not collected owing to the shutdown.
All November 2025 figures are preliminary and subject to revision.
