Unemployment up in Virginia, unchanged in Maryland

WASHINGTON — New state unemployment numbers from the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics show the jobless rate rose in August in Virginia, but was unchanged in Maryland.

The District is included in the list of seasonally-adjusted state unemployment rates, and D.C.’s unemployment rate was up too.

In Virginia, the unemployment rate was 3.9 percent last month, up from 3.7 percent in July, but still lower than the state’s unemployment rate of 4.2 percent in August 2015.

Maryland’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.3 percent and down from 5.1 percent a year earlier.

The District’s August unemployment rate was 6 percent, up from 5.9 percent, but down from 6.7 percent last August.

South Dakota retains the title of the lowest state unemployment rate in August, at 2.9 percent. Alaska had the highest state unemployment rate last month, at 6.8 percent.

Jeff Clabaugh

Jeff Clabaugh has spent 20 years covering the Washington region's economy and financial markets for WTOP as part of a partnership with the Washington Business Journal, and officially joined the WTOP newsroom staff in January 2016.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up