A new report says Virginia's economic outlook is unfavorable.
By the end of 2025, Virginia will have lost more than 9,000 jobs this year. That's the forecast from the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at UVA.
"We expect 2026 to be weaker now, basically zero percent job growth – so flat, which is not something you want," says executive director Eric Scorsone. "Generally, you want job growth. If you look at the last decade, we were growing closer to two percent. So, the difference between zero and two percent is actually quite significant."
Zero percent growth has consequences. People might start moving out of Virginia for states that have not suffered under the Trump administration's mass firings, and CNBC just took away Virginia's best in business designation because more problems are expected in the near future.
"Another thing that you might see is companies postponing investment because simply they don't expect the economy to be so strong [or] people willing to spend so much money," says UVA economist Joao Ferreira. "And so, they might start postponing new investment, which also feeds the capacity of the economy to recover from these types of slowdowns."
The Weldon Cooper Center will release another forecast in the fall, just as larger numbers of federal workers will be separating from the government after taking a buyout.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
