(The Center Square) — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has announced that general fund revenues are exceeding projections so far this year by nearly $205 million and are up 3% “among major sources,” like withholding, sales tax collections and corporate income tax revenues, from what they were a year ago, “after adjusting for policy actions.”
The announcement follows an update from the governor earlier this summer on lower unemployment rates and higher workforce participation.
“As we accelerate results in the commonwealth to reduce cost of living and provide transformational investments in our communities, Virginia remains in a strong economic position,” Youngkin said in a statement.
However, Youngkin and other officials want to “remain conservative” in their forecasts due to concerns about a possible recession. While acknowledging that collections have exceeded predictions thus far, Virginia Secretary of Finance Stephen Cummings said they’ll better understand the state’s true position for fiscal year 2024 after a couple more months.
“While the economy continues to show resilience even as interest rates have increased significantly over the past year, the risk of further rate hikes, inflation persisting above Fed targets and other uncertainties including the potential for a federal government shutdown cause us to remain cautious in our outlook over the near term,” Cummings said.
The labor force participation rate was 66.7% in July, the highest since November 2012, according to a statement from the governor’s office. In June, Virginia had its largest workforce in almost 50 years, according to the governor.
