VIRGINIA NEWS – Monthly unemployment skyrockets in state of Virginia; D.C. has second highest unemployment rate

Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer

Unemployment rates in Virginia have increased and are now higher than the unemployment rates of 28 other states in March compared to a year ago. Despite this escalation, monthly changes were less pronounced. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that Virginia’s unemployment rate increased by 3.2% in March, which was up from 3.1% in February. Virginia’s unemployment rate was just 2.8% a year ago, and Maryland’s March unemployment rate has stayed the same at 3.0%. 

Job growth has slowed in both Virginia and Maryland, despite Virginia’s adding 9,233 nonfarm payroll jobs in the past year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Maryland’s March jobs total was 1,957 lower than it was in March 2024. Payroll rose in just 13 states compared to the rates a year ago, and only six states have posted month-to-month gains. South Dakota, once again, had the lowest unemployment rate in March at just 1.8% when compared to the other states. Washington, D.C. has the second-highest unemployment rate at 5.6%.