Virginia unemployment near 8-year low

WASHINGTON — Unemployment rates fell in 21 states in March, including Virginia, where the jobless rate registered 4 percent, the lowest Virginia unemployment rate since June 2008.

Virginia’s unemployment rate was 4.1 percent in February, and 4.7 percent in March 2015, according to the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Maryland’s unemployment rate in March was unchanged at 4.7 percent and down from 5.3 percent in March 2015.

South Dakota reclaimed the title of the state with the lowest unemployment rate, at 2.5 percent, edging out New Hampshire’s 2.6 percent jobless rate last month.

The highest state unemployment rate in the nation in March was Alaska, at 6.6 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.

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