August sees increase in Virginia employment numbers

RICHMOND, VA – Governor Glenn Youngkin today announced an increase of just over 7,300 more employed Virginians in August, bringing the total to 226,954 more Virginians employed since January 2022. The labor force participation rate held steady at 66.7 percent, maintaining the highest rate since November 2012. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) Local Area Unemployment Statistics (“LAUS,” or the “household survey”), the labor force in Virginia increased this month by 3,966 to 4,601,469, the largest number of workers since counting began in 1976.

“Our commonsense agenda continues to deliver results for families and local businesses across the Commonwealth, and Virginians are showing confidence by entering the labor force and achieving record highs,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “Virginians continue to fill the good-paying jobs available across the Commonwealth, and companies in Virginia are expanding and investing in our local communities. Together, we can accelerate this progress and move Virginia to new heights.”

The labor force participation rate, which measures the proportion of the civilian population aged 16 and older that is employed or actively looking for work, remained unchanged at 66.7 percent in August, continuing the highest labor force participation rate experienced in Virginia since November 2012.

According to BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (“LAUS”, or “the household survey”), Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in August remained unchanged at 2.5 percent, which is 0.3 percentage points below the rate from a year ago. The labor force increased by 3,966 to 4,601,469 as the number of unemployed residents decreased by 3,382 to 112,959. The number of employed residents increased by 7,348 to 4,488,510 and Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 1.3 percentage points below the national rate, which increased by 0.3 percentage points to 3.8 percent.