Manassas unemployment rose to 3.2% in September from 2.7% a year earlier, and 624 fewer residents held jobs. The city still sits below Virginia and its neighbors.

The unemployment rate in Manassas rose to 3.2% in September. That is up from 2.7% in September 2025 and from 3.1% in August.

The figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics for the city of Manassas. The September number is preliminary and can be revised next month.

The rise is small, and the city’s rate is still the lowest in its corner of Prince William County. But the count of working residents fell over the year, and the labor force shrank with it.

The numbers for Manassas

September 2025 September 2026 Change
Unemployment rate 2.7% 3.2% up 0.5 points
Residents unemployed 650 748 up 98
Residents employed 23,189 22,565 down 624
Labor force 23,839 23,313 down 526

Source: BLS series for Manassas city’s unemployed, employed and labor force.

The figures count where people live, not where they work. A Manassas resident who commutes to a job in Fairfax County or Washington counts here.

Most of the change is in the number of people working. The city had 624 fewer employed residents than a year earlier, but only 98 more counted as unemployed. The rest left the labor force, which counts only people working or looking for work. The BLS data does not say why: people retire, move away or stop looking.

A year of small swings

The rate is not seasonally adjusted, so it moves with the calendar. Over the past year it stayed between 2.7% and 3.5%:

  • a low of 2.7% in September 2025
  • a high of 3.5% in February 2026
  • 2.9% in April, the low point of 2026 so far
  • 3.1% in July and August, then 3.2% in September

Because of those seasonal swings, the fairest comparison is the same month a year earlier. On that measure, September was 0.5 points worse.

Bar chart of the Manassas city unemployment rate by month: 2.7% in September 2025, 3.4% in November, 3.0% in December, 3.4% in January 2026, 3.5% in February, 3.4% in March, 2.9% in April, 3.2% in May, 3.4% in June, 3.1% in July, 3.1% in August and 3.2% in September 2026. No October 2025 figure was published.
The Manassas city unemployment rate by month. Chart by Manassas Daily
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There is no October 2025 figure. The BLS marks that month “data unavailable due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations,” the federal government shutdown.

How Manassas compares

The rate rose over the year in Manassas, Manassas Park (about three miles east), Prince William County and Virginia as a whole. Manassas stayed the lowest of the four:

Area September 2025 September 2026
Manassas 2.7% 3.2%
Manassas Park 3.1% 3.4%
Prince William County 3.3% 3.5%
Virginia 3.4% 3.6%

All four figures are not seasonally adjusted, so they compare like with like. Sources: the BLS series for Manassas Park, Prince William County and Virginia. Manassas and Manassas Park are independent cities, so the BLS counts them separately from the county.

The jump in Manassas, 0.5 points, was bigger than the rise in the county or the state, each 0.2 points.

What it means for you

  • If you are looking for work, Virginia Career Works Northern runs free career centers across Northern Virginia, with job search help and training referrals. Its site lists free GED preparation for city of Manassas residents.
  • If you lost a job, apply for unemployment benefits through the Virginia Employment Commission.
  • If you are hiring, about 750 city residents were out of work and looking in September.
  • For the wider picture, see our pages on home prices and new businesses in Manassas.

The September numbers are preliminary. We will update this page if the BLS revises them.