Youngkin announces more than 4.52 million in Virginia’s labor force

RICHMOND, VA –  Governor Glenn Youngkin today announced more than 4.52 million people in Virginia’s labor force—the most ever since first recorded in 1976. The labor force participation rate has increased to 65.9% in March, a rate higher than the February 2020 pre-pandemic rate of 65.7%. According to Bureau of Labor and Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics (“LAUS”, or “the household survey”), the labor force in Virginia increased this month by 23,511 to 4,528,910.

“Since day one, I have been laser-focused on more Virginians entering the workforce and today we reached new heights,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “Our approach to make Virginia more affordable for families and local businesses is working and we are pressing forward on commonsense policies to make Virginia even more competitive and bring more people into the labor force.”

With the increase of Virginians moving back into the workforce, Virginia’s unemployment rate of 3.2 percent was unchanged from February and remained below the national rate, which decreased to 3.5 percent in March.

According to LAUS, the number of employed Virginians increased by 25,941 to 4,385,463 in March. Throughout the month, the number of unemployed residents decreased by 2,430 to 143,447.