by Sarah Roderick-Fitch
Virginia has shattered a record with more than 4.5 million people in the commonwealth’s workforce, Gov. Glenn Youngkin says.
The workforce was recorded at 65.9 percent in March, which is over 1 percent higher than it was before the beginning of the pandemic. Virginia eclipsed the national average by 3 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Youngkin credited his administration’s pro-business policies for attracting more people back into the workforce.
“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,” said Youngkin. “Since day one, I have been laser-focused on more Virginians entering the workforce and today we reached new heights.”
Virginia’s unemployment rate of 3.2 percent has not changed since February, remaining below the national average of 3.5 percent. According to the BLS, Virginia is ranked 10th in the country for employment numbers. Maryland is at 65.7 percent.
“The number of people in the Virginia labor force has reached an all-time high this month,” said Secretary of Labor Bryan Slater. “As more people join the labor force and search for employment, our workforce services are here to place them in jobs.”
The most significant job sector gains in the state were professional and business services with over 3,500 jobs, followed by education and health services (over 2,200), and the government sector (over 1,900). The big losers were trade; transportation and utilities; and construction and finance.
“The labor force participation rate rose to 65.9 percent in March, which exceeds the 65.7 percent we saw in February of 2020,” said Caren Merrick, secretary of Commerce and Trade. “The influx of Virginians looking for work tells employers of the commonwealth that we can serve all of their workforce needs.”
The most significant job sector increase in the last year has been education and health services, with the addition of nearly 29,000 jobs, up 5.3 percent. Leisure and hospitality (6.3 percent) is next, followed by professional and business services (2.3 percent). According to the Virginia Employment Commission, the most considerable job losses were in the finance industry.
Youngkin is in the middle of an economic tour promoting trade relations with Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.
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Sarah Roderick-Fitch is The Center Square’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Editor. She has previously worked as an editor, and has been a contributing writer for several publications. In addition to writing and editing, Sarah spent nearly a decade working for non-profit, public policy organizations in the Washington, DC area.
