Overall unemployment rate moved down to 3.0% with the biggest shift in Restaurants & Hotels, which gained 3,700 roles, based on the most recently available information published in June 2022.

Total employment in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC market declined by 508 jobs in April and the unemployment rate decreased compared to the prior month by 10 bps to 3.0%. The national unemployment rate decreased by 42 bps over the same time to 3.3%.

  • Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC unemployment rate is 34 bps below the national rate which is a positive sign.
  • Unemployment in the market is 160 bps below the unemployment rate in the market last year at this time, which is a positive.
  • Average wages (per hour) grew in April versus prior month by 12% and are up compared to last year at this time in the market.
Month over Month Unemployment Change
Year over Year Unemployment Change
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Unemployment April 2022

For key employment segments of the market, total jobs grew by 1.0% . Key sectors include:

  • Government: 155,000; -100
  • Transportation & Utilities: 127,700; -100
  • Business Services: 115,200; +1,100
  • Education & Healthcare: 111,700; +1,600
  • Restaurants & Hotels: 93,300; +3,700
  • Manufacturing: 55,600; +100
  • Construction, Mining: 39,400; +900
  • Financial Services: 37,600; +600
  • Other Jobs: 33,100; +300
  • IT & Development: 8,900; -100
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Unemployment by Industry April 2022

Data is based on the most recent 12 months available, through April 2022 (Data published June 2022 and reports created on June 1, 2022).  Source: Government data agency and locally acquired statistics.

Note: All reported data is not seasonally adjusted.