Governor Glenn Youngkin announces the Commonwealth’s April unemployment rate unchanged from March at three percent

RICHMOND, VA – On May 20, 2022, Governor Glenn Youngkin announced Virginia’s unemployment rate held steady at 3 percent in April, while total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 13,600 jobs. The Commonwealth’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3 percent is 1.3 percentage points below the rate from a year ago. The labor force increased by 18,281 to 4,329,907, as the number of unemployed residents decreased by 1,324 to 129,771. The number of employed residents rose by 19,605 to 4,200,136.

According to BLS household survey data, Virginia’s labor force expanded to over 4.3 million workers in April 2022. Since February of this year, the labor force grew by over 52,000. The average monthly growth in the size of the labor force from February through April of 2022 was 17,352, while the 2021 average was -1,653. Labor force growth March’s labor force growth was the second-largest monthly increase while April’s was the third-largest going back to 1976.

The Commonwealth’s labor force participation rate rose by 0.2 of a percentage point to 63.5 percent in April. The labor force participation rate measures the proportion of the civilian population age 16 and older that is employed or actively looking for work.

“We have more than 60,000 Virginians working today than when I took office,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “Our state continues to add jobs month after month as we expand opportunities for businesses and families in every corner of the Commonwealth. There’s more work to be done, Virginia is still thousands of jobs short of pre-pandemic levels. Our mission remains clear, continue making Virginia the best place to live, work and raise a family.”

“The number of employed residents has risen a total of nearly 62,000 and by an average of 20,500 during February, March, and April in 2022, compared to averaging under 5,000 a month in 2021,” said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick. “Also, the labor force participation rate rose to 63.5 percent — nearly a full percentage point higher than at the end of 2021. This is an indication that many Virginians are getting off the sidelines and back into the game.”

“The unemployment rate has not risen in two years and is a third lower than a year ago,” said Secretary of Labor Bryan Slater. “While the unemployment rate can sometimes go down even when jobs are lost, VEC data for April showed total employment went up while unemployment went down. These trends indicate that Virginia’s recovery from the most recent recession is moving forward.”

Virginia payroll employment increased by 13,600 to 4,037,800 in April. From April 2021 to April 2022, the VEC estimates that establishments in Virginia gained 124,500 jobs, an increase of 3.2 percent. In April, the private sector recorded an over-the-year gain of 115,700 jobs, while employment in the public sector gained 8,800 jobs.

Compared to a year ago, on a seasonally adjusted basis, nine of eleven major industry divisions experienced employment increases while two saw employment decreases. The largest over-the-year job gain occurred in leisure and hospitality, up 62,400 jobs (+18.4%). The second-largest over-the-year job gain occurred in professional and business services, with up to 18,600 jobs (+2.4%). The next largest over-the-year job gain occurred in education and health services, with up to 18,000 jobs (+3.4%). Other job gains occurred in trade and transportation (+11,200 jobs), government (+8,800 jobs), miscellaneous (+6,400 jobs), information (+2,300 jobs), construction (+300 jobs), and mining (+200 jobs). Within government, local (+2,500 jobs) and state government (+700 jobs) both gained jobs over the year while the federal government saw a decrease in employment (-700 jobs). The largest job loss during April occurred in finance (-2,700 jobs) to 207,500. The second-largest decrease occurred in manufacturing with a decrease of 1,000 jobs to 235,900.

For more details, visit the Virginia Employment Commission’s website at vec.virginia.gov.