Prince William County, Va. –– The unemployment rate for jurisdictions along the Potomac River continues to fall.
Stafford County’s unemployment rate fell to 4.9 percent in April, down from 5.6 percent in April 2010.
Prince William County also posted a 4.9 percent unemployment number, down from 5.7 one-year ago.
While the two jurisdictions aren’t leading the region in job creation, officials in Prince William County this week credited the federal government and private sector jobs for the rise in the recent employments statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor, which are well below the national unemployment average of 9.1 percent in May.
“Prince William County is located at the center of Northern Virginia, and our residents provide the highly skilled workforce needed to fill the jobs created throughout the Northern Virginia region,” said Prince William Board Chairman Corey A. Stewart in a press release. “We are committed to providing solutions for the federal government and private sector industries – particularly with regard to BRAC, the life sciences, data centers and government contractors – which continue to bring quality jobs to Prince William County and the rest of the Northern Virginia region.”
Arlington leads the area with the lowest unemployment rate of 3.4 percent, while Loudoun County comes in second with 3.9 percent, according to the Labor Department.
Fairfax County shows an unemployment rate of 4.0 percent.
Virginia localities still struggling to regain ground the economy is Martinsville, with an unemployment rate of 20.6 percent –– the lowest unemployment rate in the state.
Williamsburg has the second-worst unemployment rate in the state at 15.6 percent.
