Arlington’s jobless rate stood as the lowest in March among Virginia’s 133 cities and counties.
With 158,640 in the civilian workforce and 2,784 seeking jobs, the county’s 1.7 percent unemployment rate was down from 2.2 percent a month before and 2.1 percent a year ago.
That trajectory generally was followed by other localities across Northern Virginia: Month-to-month jobless rates declined from 2.2 percent to 1.9 percent in Falls Church; from 2.4 percent to 2 percent in Alexandria; from 2.5 percent to 2.1 percent in Fairfax County; from 2.6 percent to 2.2 percent in Loudoun County; and from 2.8 percent to 2.3 percent in Prince William County.
Across Northern Virginia as a whole, the overall jobless rate of 2.2 percent was down from 2.6 percent a month before and 2.5 percent a year ago. It represented just under 1.7 million in the civilian workforce and slightly less than 40,000 looking for jobs.
Across Virginia, jobless rates were down month-over-month in 129 counties, up in one and unchanged in three.
After Arlington, the lowest jobless rates were reported from Charlottesville (1.8%) and then six jurisdictions tied at 1.9 percent. The highest rates were found in Petersburg (5.2%), Emporia (4.8%) and Northumberland County (4.5%).
