RICHMOND, Va. — As Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger is speaking out against President Trump’s planned mass firings of Virginia workers amid the government shutdown — and his administration’s ongoing DOGE cuts, new state-level data for Virginia shows unemployment rates across Northern Virginia counties skyrocketed over the past year.
According to new state-level data from the Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement (Virginia Works), the jobless rate rose by 38 percent in Arlington, 35 percent in Alexandria, and 28 percent in Fairfax year-over-year compared to 2024. This report comes as Virginia’s unemployment rate recently rose for seven consecutive months.
“Abigail is hearing from Virginians who have lost their jobs because of President Trump’s continued attacks on Virginia’s workforce and economy,” said Connor Joseph, Communications Director, Spanberger for Governor. “This new data confirms what Abigail has been saying since January — President Trump’s DOGE cuts are killing Virginians’ jobs and hurting Virginia’s entire economy. While Abigail is offering a vision for lowering costs and standing up to the chaos, Winsome Earle-Sears has backed President Trump’s attacks on Virginians’ jobs and Virginia’s economy at every opportunity.”
Earlier this week, Spanberger called out her opponent — Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears — on MSNBC’s “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” for outright refusing to say that President Trump must stop firing Virginians as he vows to implement mass layoffs amid the government shutdown.
Additionally, Spanberger called on President Trump to “reverse course and work in good faith to end this shutdown as soon as possible” as Virginians already face the consequences of DOGE cuts, tariffs, and threats to healthcare coverage.
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