Virginia’s September Unemployment Rate decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 3.5 percent – Total Non-farm Employment increased over the year

December 11, 2025

Virginia’s September Unemployment Rate decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 3.5 percent – Total Non-farm Employment increased over the year

RICHMOND— Virginia Works – the Commonwealth’s Department of Workforce Development and Advancement – announced today that Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in September decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 3.5 percent, which is 0.6 percentage points above the rate from a year ago. According to household survey data in September, the labor force decreased by 7,418 to 4,540,292 as the number of unemployed residents decreased by 2,631 to 160,199. The number of employed residents decreased by 4,787 to 4,380,093 according to the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (“the household survey”). Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 0.9 percentage points below the national rate, which increased by 0.1 percentage points to 4.4 percent.

The Commonwealth’s labor force participation rate decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 64.6 percent in September. The labor force participation rate measures the proportion of the civilian population age 16 and older that is employed or actively looking for work.

In September’s Current Employment Statistics Survey, Virginia’s nonagricultural employment decreased by 5,000 to 4,278,400. August’s preliminary estimate of employment, after revision, increased by 1,800 to 4,283,400. In September, private sector employment decreased by 200 to 3,518,800 while government employment decreased by 4,800 to 759,600. Within that sector, federal government jobs decreased by 800 to 185,400, state government employment decreased by 5,000 to 160,800, and local government increased by 1,000 to 413,400 over the month.

Seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment data is produced for eleven industry sectors. In September, four experienced over-the-month job gains, two remained unchanged, and five experienced a decline. The largest job gain occurred in Financial Activities (+2,300) to 222,100. The second largest job gain occurred in Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (+1,600) to 680,800. The third largest job gain occurred in Construction (+1,200) to 233,500. The other gain was in Miscellaneous Services (+1,000) to 210,000.
The largest job loss occurred in Government (-4,800) to 759,600. The second largest job loss occurred in Leisure and Hospitality (-2,700) to 414,300. The third largest job loss occurred in Education and Health Services (-1,600) to 637,300. The other losses were in Manufacturing (-1,200) to 237,200; and Information (-800) to 69,100.
Mining and Logging; and Professional and Business Services remained unchanged.

*Current month’s estimates are preliminary.

From September 2024 to September 2025, Virginia Works estimates that total nonfarm employment in Virginia increased by 28,200 to 4,278,400, private sector employment increased by 24,700 to 3,518,800, and government employment increased by 3,500 to 759,600 jobs. Within that sector, federal government jobs decreased by 8,700 to 185,400, state government employment increased by 1,100 to 160,800, and local government increased by 11,100 to 413,400 over the year.

For the eleven industry sectors in Virginia over the year, six experienced over-the-year job gains, and five experienced a decline. The largest job gain occurred in Education and Health Services (+22,800) to 637,300. The second largest job gain occurred in Construction (+13,500) to 233,500. The third largest job gain occurred in Miscellaneous Services (+4,600) to 210,000. The other gains were in Government (+3,500) to 759,600; Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (+1,700) to 680,800; and Financial Activities (+900) to 222,100.
The largest job loss occurred in Professional and Business Services (-10,800) to 807,400. The second largest job loss occurred in Manufacturing (-5,600) to 237,200. The third largest job loss occurred in Leisure and Hospitality (-1,200) to 414,300. The other losses were in Information (-900) to 69,100; and Mining and Logging (-300) to 7,100.

*Current month’s estimates are preliminary.

Seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment data is produced for ten metropolitan areas. In September, four experienced over-the-month job gains, and six experienced a decline. The largest job gain occurred in Winchester (+400) to 75,000. The second largest job gain occurred in Staunton (+300) to 54,200. The third largest job gain occurred in Roanoke (+200) to 168,100. The other gain was in Charlottesville (+100) to 126,300.
The largest job loss occurred in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk (-1,400) to 821,200. The second largest job loss occurred in Richmond (-900) to 734,000. The third largest job loss occurred in Harrisonburg (-800) to 70,400. The other losses were in Lynchburg (-300) to 104,500; Arlington-Alexandria (-100) to 1,635,600; and Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford (-100) to 82,300.

Over the year, seven metro areas experienced over-the-year job gains, and three experienced a decline. The largest job gain occurred in Richmond (+11,000) to 734,000. The second largest job gain occurred in Arlington-Alexandria (+3,300) to 1,635,600. The third largest job gain occurred in Winchester (+2,300) to 75,000. The other gains were in Charlottesville (+1,900) to 126,300; Lynchburg (+900) to 104,500; Roanoke (+400) to 168,100; and Staunton (+200) to 54,200.
The largest job loss occurred in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk (-4,000) to 821,200. The second largest job loss occurred in Harrisonburg (-1,400) to 70,400. The third largest job loss occurred in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford (-100) to 82,300.

Not Seasonally Adjusted Data

Virginia’s unadjusted unemployment rate decreased by 0.5 percentage points to 3.4 percent in September. It has increased by 0.5 percentage points to 3.4 percent compared to last year. Compared to a year ago, the number of unemployed increased by 17,882 to 150,956, household employment decreased by 98,381 to 4,354,424, and the labor force decreased by 80,499 to 4,505,380. Virginia’s not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 0.9 percentage points below the national unadjusted rate, which decreased by 0.2 percentage points to 4.3 percent.

Compared to last month, the September unadjusted workweek for Virginia’s 153,600 manufacturing production workers increased by 0.5 to 38.8 hours. Average hourly earnings of private-sector production workers increased by $0.03 to $28.57, and average weekly earnings increased by $15.44 to $1,108.52.

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Technical note: Estimates of unemployment and industry employment levels are obtained from two separate monthly surveys. Resident employment and unemployment data are mainly derived from the Virginia portion of the national Current Population Survey (CPS), a household survey conducted each month by the U.S. Census Bureau under contract with BLS, which provides input to the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program (often referred to as the “household” survey). Industry employment data is mainly derived from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey, a monthly survey of approximately 18,000 Virginia businesses conducted by BLS, which provides estimates of employment, hours, and earnings data broken down by industry for the nation as a whole, all states and most major metropolitan areas (often referred to as the “establishment” survey). Both industry and household estimates are revised each month based on additional information from updated survey reports compiled by the BLS. For national figures and information on how COVID-19 affected collection of the BLS establishment and household surveys in April 2020, refer to the BLS September Employment Situation press release for details.

The statistical reference week for the household survey this month was the week of September 7-13, 2025

Sep 25 CES Distribution Publication File