RICHMOND, Va. (WAVY) — Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Friday that this past June has seen an increase of more than 23,000 employed Virginians, with the 66.6% labor force participation rate at its highest since January 2013.
According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics, or LAUS, the labor force in Virginia increased by 13,757 making it the largest number of workers since 1976 at 4,588,082.
“Virginians are back to work, with 200,000 more people working and the largest labor force in nearly 50 years,” Youngkin said. “Virginia’s unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in nearly a year while more and more people are joining the labor force.”
According to LAUS, the number of employed Virginians increased by 23,111 in June, and the number of unemployed residents decreased by 9,354. With the significant increase of Virginians moving back into the workforce, the Commonwealth’s unemployment rate declined from 2.9% in May to 2.7% in June, and remained below the national rate of 3.6%.
For the eleven industry sectors in Virginia over the year, nine of eleven major industry divisions experienced employment increases while two were unchanged.
| Industry | # of increased jobs |
|---|---|
| Education and Health Services | 22,700 |
| Government | 22,200 |
| Leisure and Hospitality | 21,000 |
| Professional and Business | 12,300 |
| Miscellaneous | 5,300 |
| Construction | 3,400 |
| Trade, Transportation and Utilities | 2,500 |
| Information | 2,100 |
| Manufactoring | 1,000 |
| Finance | N/A |
| Mining | N/A |
For more details, visit the Virginia Employment Commission’s website.