Nearly 100,000 more Virginians employed since the end of January

Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Friday, Aug. 19, that there are nearly 100,000 more Virginians employed since the end of January.

Based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) household survey data released Aug. 19 by the Virginia Employment Commission, Virginia added nearly 6,000 jobs in July, and the Commonwealth’s unemployment rate declined 0.1 percentage point to 2.7 percent from 3.4 percent in January. This rate continues to track below the national rate at 3.5 percent.

According to BLS household survey data, the number of employed residents rose by 5,865 to 4,238,134, with the labor force participation rate declined slightly to 63.8 from June’s revised 63.9 percent as the labor force in Virginia remains approximately 120,000 less than its pre-pandemic levels.

“With 100,000 jobs added since January, we are well ahead of pace to reach our goal of 400,000 jobs during my term. However, the slowdown in monthly job creation and the lower level of job participation have my full attention. We will continue the critical work to return more Virginians to the workforce and will double-down on policies that make Virginia attractive for job growth and business investment,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “We remain laser-focused on our mission to make Virginia the best place to live, work and raise a family.”

“We are excited by the number of new businesses coming to Virginia and the expansion of those companies currently operating in the Commonwealth. We have many job opportunities available across Virginia, and we will work with both our businesses and Virginians to return more people to the workforce.” said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick.

“While the July unemployment rate of 2.7% is not far from its historically low rate of 2.1% in 2000, we need to add workers and achieve higher rates of growth for the economy. We must continue our return to a more vibrant economy that reaches across all sectors in Virginia.,” said Secretary of Labor Bryan Slater.

For more details, visit the Virginia Employment Commission’s website at vec.virginia.gov.