The number of Arlington residents counted as unemployed is up 11.4% year-over-year and has increased 50% since the start of the Trump administration, according to new state data.
A total of 4,814 county residents were looking for work in March, according to figures reported May 19 by the Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement. That’s up from 4,358 a year before and up from 3,212 in December 2024, the last full month of the Biden administration.
The county’s unemployment rate grew from 2.1% in December 2024 to 2.8% in March 2025, to 3.2% in March 2026 as the Trump White House took an ax to the federal workforce.
Arlington’s year-over-year rise in unemployment was roughly in line with that of its neighbors. Totals increased 14.8% in Alexandria, 14.9% in Falls Church and 17% in Fairfax County.
Across Northern Virginia as a whole, the number of residents counted as unemployed grew 15.6% to 62,518 year over year in March, according to figures reported by the federal government’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The Northern Virginia unemployment rate of 3.6% in March was up from 3% a year before, according to BLS data.
Statewide, the March jobless rate of 3.8% was up from 3.3% a year before, with about 4.32 million people in the civilian workforce and just under 170,500 people looking for work.
Across the entire D.C. metro area, the month’s jobless rate of 4.1% was up from 3.6% a year before, with the number of people counted as unemployed — 142,151 — up 10.6%.
The D.C. region was one of 174 metro areas to experience a year-over-year increase in joblessness, according to federal figures reported May 19.
Rates were lower in 172 metro areas and unchanged in 41, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with 25 areas having jobless rates of less than 3% and 10 areas with rates of more than 8%.
The national, non-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in March was 4.3%.
In March, Rapid City, S.D., had the lowest unemployment rate, 2%, followed by Burlington, Vt., and Honolulu at 2.2% each. El Centro, Calif., had the highest rate, at 16.9%.
The largest over-the-year unemployment rate increase in March occurred in Wildwood-The Villages, Fla. (up 2.2 percentage points), with the largest decline recorded in Sandusky, Ohio (down 2 percentage points).
All March 2026 figures are preliminary and are subject to revision.
