Data / Unemployed people / Portsmouth, VA

Unemployed people in Portsmouth, VA

Unemployed people in Portsmouth, VA was 1,865 in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is up 10.6% from 2024. That is the 8th highest of 34 cities in 2025.

2025, persons1,865
Change on 2024+10.6%
Rank8th of 34Cities in Virginia ranked
Series high4,4212020
Series low1,4672000

Next release: Wednesday, 28 October 2026, 10:00 ET, announced by BLS. Release calendar

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Unemployed people in Portsmouth, VA, 1990 to 2025

1,0002,0003,0004,0005,00019901996200220082014202020251990: 3,081 persons1991: 3,547 persons1992: 3,851 persons1993: 3,494 persons1994: 4,064 persons1995: 3,201 persons1996: 3,300 persons1997: 3,191 persons1998: 2,367 persons1999: 2,140 persons2000: 1,467 persons2001: 1,895 persons2002: 2,330 persons2003: 2,379 persons2004: 2,385 persons2005: 2,376 persons2006: 2,034 persons2007: 1,997 persons2008: 2,490 persons2009: 3,955 persons2010: 4,161 persons2011: 4,069 persons2012: 3,854 persons2013: 3,587 persons2014: 3,193 persons2015: 2,712 persons2016: 2,711 persons2017: 2,368 persons2018: 1,837 persons2019: 1,736 persons2020: 4,421 persons2021: 2,846 persons2022: 1,620 persons2023: 1,536 persons2024: 1,686 persons2025: 1,865 persons1,0002,0003,0004,0005,00019902002201420251990: 3,081 persons1991: 3,547 persons1992: 3,851 persons1993: 3,494 persons1994: 4,064 persons1995: 3,201 persons1996: 3,300 persons1997: 3,191 persons1998: 2,367 persons1999: 2,140 persons2000: 1,467 persons2001: 1,895 persons2002: 2,330 persons2003: 2,379 persons2004: 2,385 persons2005: 2,376 persons2006: 2,034 persons2007: 1,997 persons2008: 2,490 persons2009: 3,955 persons2010: 4,161 persons2011: 4,069 persons2012: 3,854 persons2013: 3,587 persons2014: 3,193 persons2015: 2,712 persons2016: 2,711 persons2017: 2,368 persons2018: 1,837 persons2019: 1,736 persons2020: 4,421 persons2021: 2,846 persons2022: 1,620 persons2023: 1,536 persons2024: 1,686 persons2025: 1,865 persons
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12, published 2026-09-30.
All 36 values
Periodpersons
20251,865
20241,686
20231,536
20221,620
20212,846
20204,421
20191,736
20181,837
20172,368
20162,711
20152,712
20143,193
20133,587
20123,854
20114,069
20104,161
20093,955
20082,490
20071,997
20062,034
20052,376
20042,385
20032,379
20022,330
20011,895
20001,467
19992,140
19982,367
19973,191
19963,300
19953,201
19944,064
19933,494
19923,851
19913,547
19903,081

Rankings

Definition

Residents with no job who were available for work and had looked for work in the previous four weeks, or were waiting to be recalled from a layoff, annual average.

More on how it is measured
  • People aged 16 and over by place of residence, from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Active-duty military personnel and people living in institutions are excluded.

United States cities only for now. The survey definition, not a count of benefit claimants. BLS estimates cities by splitting county estimates with Census Bureau employment and population data and unemployment insurance claims, so city figures are less precise than state ones. BLS publishes cities of 25,000 or more, and smaller cities in New England.

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How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average (Unemployed people, Portsmouth, VA, 1990 to 2025) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29

MLA 9

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average, Unemployed people, Portsmouth, VA, 1990 to 2025. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/unemployed-people/portsmouth-va. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Unemployed people, Portsmouth, VA, 1990 to 2025. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/unemployed-people/portsmouth-va.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average, Unemployed people, Portsmouth, VA, 1990 to 2025 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/unemployed-people/portsmouth-va (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_unemployed_people_portsmouth_va_2025,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average: Unemployed people, Portsmouth, VA, 1990 to 2025}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/unemployed-people/portsmouth-va. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average: Unemployed people, Portsmouth, VA, 1990 to 2025
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/unemployed-people/portsmouth-va
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/unemployed-people/portsmouth-va.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

What is the unemployed people in Portsmouth, VA?

Unemployed people in Portsmouth, VA was 1,865 in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is up 10.6% from 2024. That is the 8th highest of 34 cities in 2025.

Where does this figure come from?

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-12.

What was the highest unemployed people in Portsmouth, VA?

4,421 in 2020, the highest value since 1990 in this series.

Unemployed people elsewhere in Virginia

Related statistics for Portsmouth, VA

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