The ranks of the unemployed in the city grew more than 46% year-over-year in new state jobs figures.
A total of 3,723 Alexandria residents were recorded as unemployed in November according to figures reported yesterday (Wednesday) by the Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement.
That’s up from 2,543 in November 2024. During that period the city’s unemployment rate grew from 2.5% to 3.8%, and marked its eighth consecutive month above 3%.
Surveys to determine local, state and national unemployment for October were not taken owing to the seven-week shutdown of the federal government.
The spike is due to federal government cutbacks and the ripple effect across the D.C. metro area.
Elsewhere in Northern Virginia:
- The number of unemployed in Arlington grew 51% to 5,370 while the year-over-year unemployment rate rose from 2.3% to 3.5%
- In Fairfax County, the number of unemployed was up 43% to 24,051 while the unemployment rate rose from 2.6% to 3.8%
- In Falls Church, the unemployed total rose 63% to 344, while the unemployment rate grew from 2.5% to 4.2%
- In Loudoun County, the number of unemployed rose 41% to 8,953 while the unemployment rate grew from 2.5% to 3.6%
- In Prince William County, the number of unemployed was up 38% to 9,958 while the unemployed rate rose from 2.7% to 3.8%
Feds peg N. Va. unemployment increase at 41%
The number of unemployed Northern Virginians grew 41% year-over-year in November 2025, according to new federal data.
A total of 65,357 residents of the Virginia portion of the Washington metropolitan area were counted as unemployed for the month, according to figures released Jan. 16 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
That compares to the 46,381 residents tallied as seeking jobs in November 2024.
The November 2025 Northern Virginia unemployment rate of 3.7% was up from 2.6% a year before, according to the new figures. The spike in joblessness across Northern Virginia was slightly lower than across the metro area as a whole.
For November, there were 158,736 Washington-region residents counted as looking for work, up 47.7% from 107,504 a year before.
The 3% unemployment rate for the metro area in November 2024 had grown to 4.5% in the November 2025 report.
Statewide unemployment total grows 31%
Statewide, the number of Virginians counted as unemployed in November was 173,136, up 31.2% from 131,957 a year before, according to figures reported by the Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement.
November’s non-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate of 3.9% statewide was up from 2.9% a year before, according to state data.
Nationally, year-over-year unemployment rates were higher in November in 259 metro areas, lower in 100 and unchanged in 28. The national, non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in November was 4.3%, up from 4% a year previously, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Nationally, the lowest unemployment rate for a metro area was turned in by Sioux Falls, S.D. (2%), with El Centro, Calif, recording the highest (20%).
Of the 56 metro areas with populations of more than a million, Honolulu had the lowest rate (2.3%) and Fresno the highest (8.1%).
Publication of November 2025 data by the Bureau of Labor Statistics was delayed due to the seven-week shutdown of the federal government last fall. October figures were not collected owing to the shutdown.
All November 2025 figures are preliminary and subject to revision.
