Since January 2022, nearly 90,000 more Virginians are employed. More Virginians moved off the sidelines begin and looking for a job in December; and the Commonwealth’s unemployment rate increased 0.2 percentage points to 3.0 percent which remains below the national rate of 3.5 percent. During the month, the number of unemployed residents increased by 5,126 to 128,912 but the overall number is down 10,422 since January 2022.

“Throughout the first year of our administration, job growth in Virginia was overwhelmingly led by the private sector–providing 86 percent of year-over-year job growth–with our valuable defense and public sectors continuing their strong contributions as well,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “This encouraging report showed thousands of Virginians coming off the sidelines and getting back into the workforce. We remain laser-focused on improving Virginia’s competitive presence among states competing for jobs and businesses. As companies in Virginia continue to grow payrolls and drive our economy, we must keep moving forward to lower the cost of living and the cost of doing business in the Commonwealth.”

Job growth averaged 9,000 a month over the past year which is over twice the 2021 average and 28 percent more than the pre-pandemic average in 2019. Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.0 percent is 0.3 of a percentage point below the rate from a year ago.

The Commonwealth’s labor force participation rate increased to 63.7 percent in December. The labor force participation rate measures the proportion of the civilian population age 16 and older that is employed or actively looking for work.

“Nearly 10,000 Virginians joined the labor force in December,” said Secretary of Labor Bryan Slater. “This was the largest increase since May of last year and is a promising sign that more people are getting off of the sidelines and back into the workforce, as we start the new year.”

“The Commonwealth’s unemployment rate remained in a narrow range of 2.6 percent and 3.0 percent for much of 2022,” said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick. “These low levels indicate a strong labor market, and we are encouraged by the number of people entered the workforce in December.”

BLS publishes an additional employment figure from its Current Employment Statistics Survey (“CES” or “establishment survey”). Virginia CES employment edged up by 100 jobs in December to 4,097,900.

The CES survey uses payroll records of establishment employers and is designed to provide a count of jobs under which the employer pays unemployment insurance. The LAUS survey is based on household interviews conducted each month for the Bureau of Labor Statistics and provides comprehensive data on the labor force, including those who are employed and unemployed.

The household survey only distinguishes between whether a person is employed or unemployed, whereas CES counts each employee that is on an employer’s payroll. CES excludes business owners, self-employed persons, unpaid volunteers and private household workers, and those on unpaid leave or not working because of a labor dispute.