BLS: Virginia only state with notable June jobless rate increase

Virginia was the only state last month to see a statistically significant unemployment rate increase, according to survey data released last week by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

According to the Friday BLS report, Virginia’s unemployment rate in June increased to 3.5%, a slight rise from May’s rate of 3.4%. This bump is the sixth consecutive increase in Virginia’s unemployment rate. However, the state’s unemployment rate is still below the national rate, which remains at 4.1% (the same as in June 2024).

Meanwhile, according to BLS data, two states saw statistically significant decreases in unemployment, with Illinois dropping 0.2% and Maine dropping 0.1%. The BLS report stated that the remaining 47 states and Washington, D.C., had jobless rates that were not notably different from those in May.

Household survey data collected in June show that the Virginia’s labor force decreased by 10,116 to 4,558,145 and that the number of unemployed residents increased by 4,025 to 160,116. The Virginia labor force participation rate — the proportion of the civilian population ages 16 and older employed or actively looking for work — decreased by 0.2% to 65% in June.

According to the data, nonfarm employment decreased by 8,400 over the month.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Friday indicated that much of Virginia’s decline in jobs in June was due to the federal layoffs and contract cancellations that have occurred under President Donald Trump. However, Youngkin emphasized that nonfarm employment has increased by 35,600 since June 2024 and by 263,700 since January 2022.

“As I have said previously, we expect there will be federal job reductions and that the growth in non-federal jobs over the course of the year, nearly 200,000 open and unfilled positions and 80,000 jobs being created by the $120 billion in business investment Virginia has attracted, will provide opportunities for those who have experienced job dislocation,” Youngkin said in a statement. “Over the next few months, we do expect to see the push and pull on the jobs market as some areas of the federal government reduce employment and others grow, like the defense sector and the broader private sector. Virginia’s financial and economic strength continue to provide the fuel for new opportunities and growth.”

Last week, Youngkin announced that the state was partnering with Google to launch an online platform that will provide job seekers free and low-cost artificial intelligence certification courses.

“Here in the commonwealth, we are laser-focused on engaging workers and removing barriers to employment and career advancement,” Secretary of Labor Bryan Slater said. “We’re expanding access to training, apprenticeships, and supportive services to help more Virginians reenter and remain in the workforce.”

Slater previously stated Virginia has experienced a surge in AI-related job postings, with approximately 31,000 listings.

U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, a Democrat who represents parts of Northern Virginia, sent out a news release that was critical of the Trump administration. He noted that CNBC recently downgraded Virginia in its annual Top State for Business rankings to the lowest point in nearly a decade, specifically citing federal job cuts.

“With six monthly unemployment increases in a row and the only June increase in America, this can no longer be waived away: Virginia’s unemployment rate is clearly rising in a sustained way, and it is a certainty that this increase is being driven by the Trump administration’s policies,” Beyer said in a statement. “Trump’s mass firings and cuts are draining Virginia’s economy, while also hurting the services Virginians depend on, and many of those cuts are not even showing up in the data yet. I fear it will only get worse as the number of workers purged rises and the economic damage spreads further to other sectors of our economy.”