How many jobs were lost in Virginia last month?
Refreshed monthly
Virginia lost 9,600 jobs in July 2026, ranking it 47th among states in job growth. Those figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' state employment report, which tracks monthly job changes. Job numbers can swing month to month as local economies expand or contract, but over the past five years the state has averaged about 4,200 new jobs per month. These figures are often revised in later months as more complete data rolls in.
-9.6K
month to month change in number of jobs (July 2026)
47th
rank among states in monthly job growth (July 2026)
Virginia’s job loss of 9,600 in July 2026 was a directional change from the previous month. The latest monthly job change was down from the 3,300 gain in June 2026.
During the latest five year period (August 2021 to July 2026), Virginia gained jobs in 40 out of 60 months. July 2026 had the fourth-lowest job growth during this period. The highest gains during this period occurred in February 2022 (+28,600) while job growth was weakest in October 2025 (-23,200).
There were 9,600 fewer jobs in July 2026 in Virginia than the previous month.
Monthly change in nonfarm employment, August 2021–July 2026, seasonally adjusted
Which Virginia sectors and industries had the best and worst job growth in July 2026?
The three supersectors with the highest job growth in July 2026 were accommodation and food services, finance and insurance, and health care and social assistance. Accommodation and food services added 2,200 jobs, more than the entire economy. Finance and insurance gained 1,400 jobs, while health care and social assistance added 1,100. The remaining supersectors either posted smaller gains or lost jobs during the month.
The three lowest-performing supersectors were local government, retail trade, and professional, scientific, and technical services. local government lost 5,800 jobs in July 2026, while retail trade lost 2,200 jobs and professional, scientific, and technical services lost 1,500 jobs.
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The health care and social assistance sector gained 1,100 jobs during July 2026.
Change in jobs since previous month with circle size representing number of sector jobs in Virginia (July 2026)
How has Virginia's job growth changed over time?
In 2025, Virginia lost an average of 1,367 jobs every month. That's lower than the 2024 average monthly increase of 4,575, and the fourth-lowest since 2020. The 2025 average ranks as fourth-lowest in job growth since 2007.
When excluding the two pandemic-affected years of 2020 and 2021, job growth ranged from a loss of 8,900 on average every month in 2009 to a gain of 9,000 on average every month in 2015.
In 2025, Virginia lost an average of 1,400 jobs every month.
Average monthly change in the number of jobs, seasonally adjusted
Job growth among nine metro areas primarily in Virginia during July 2026 ranged from a loss of 2,900 jobs in the Richmond, VA area to a gain of 100 jobs in the Charlottesville, VA area metro area.
Monthly job growth, by metro area
Metro areas where at least one of its primary counties are within Virginia
| Metro area | Change in jobs | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | +4,100 | |
| 2. | +100 | |
| 3. | +0 | |
| 4. | +0 | |
| 5. | -100 | |
| 6. | -300 | |
| 7. | -400 | |
| 8. | -500 | |
| 9. | -1,400 | |
| 10. | -2,900 |
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Methodology
USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
Page sources
USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.
