Alexandria’s unemployment rate in April was its lowest in nearly a year, but the region still faces ongoing headwinds in keeping both jobs and workers in place, according to a panel of experts.
With 96,031 city residents counted in the civilian workforce and 3,088 looking for jobs, the city’s unemployment rate of 3.1% in April was the lowest since 3% in June 2025, according to figures reported June 3 by the Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement.
April’s rate compared to 2.8% a year before, with the increase replicated among surrounding jurisdictions:
- April’s unemployment rate in Fairfax County was 3.2%, up from 3% year over year
- The unemployment rate in Arlington was 2.9% in April, up from 2.6% a year ago
- In Falls Church, April’s rate was 3.5%, up from 2.9% a year ago
Localities across Northern Virginia are facing a decline in the total number of jobs, a trend that began before Covid, was exacerbated by the pandemic and intensified by Trump Administration cuts.
“We’re down about 108,000 jobs year over year — that’s a challenge,” said Terry Clower, director of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy & Government.
The decline extends beyond Trump-era federal cutbacks, Clower said. While dating back even before the pandemic, it was exacerbated by Covid, he said.
What happened to the people who once filled those jobs?
“Folks left” the region and didn’t return, Clower said at a June 3 forum on regional economic trends sponsored by the university.
Across Northern Virginia, the jobless rate in April was 3.8%, representing 1.67 million in the civilian workforce and about 54,700 seeking jobs.
A year ago, the Northern Virginia unemployment rate had been 2.7%.
One of the major challenges for those across Northern Virginia has been access to homes or apartments that meet their budget.
“Our number one challenge? Very simply, we need more housing supply,” said Ryan McLaughlin, CEO of the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors, at the June 3 forum.
Local leaders need to step up and address the issue, he said.
“We’re going to need to be shifting our mindset — take what we learned over the past, what we’ve done over the past 30 years,” McLaughlin said. “Not just talking about it, but actual solutions.”
Across Virginia, April’s jobless rate of 3.4% was up from 3% a year before, according to state figures.
Nationally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics delivered a mixed April jobs report.
Unemployment rates were higher in April than a year earlier in 200 of the nation’s 387 metropolitan areas, lower in 152 and unchanged in 35.
The national, non seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in April was 4%, effectively unchanged from a year before.
The lowest jobless rates of 1.7% each were found in two South Dakota metro areas: Rapid City and Sioux Falls. The highest rate, 16.5%, was found in El Centro, Calif.
Among the 56 metro areas with populations of more than a million, the lowest rates were in Birmingham, Ala. and Honolulu at 2.4% each. The highest rate was found in Fresno, Calif., at 8.1%.
In April, nonfarm payroll employment increased over the year in four metropolitan areas, decreased in four others and was essentially unchanged in the remaining 379.
Las Vegas saw the largest increase in total year-over-year employment with a growth of 23,600. The D.C. metro region had the biggest decline at 97,100, or 2.9% according to the federal data.
Figures represent non seasonally adjusted data. All April 2026 figures are preliminary and subject to revision.
