Overall unemployment rate moved down to 3.3% with the biggest shift in Transportation & Utilities, which gained 5,900 roles, based on the most recently available information published in February 2022.
Total employment in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV market declined by 6,895 jobs in December and the unemployment rate decreased compared to the prior month by 40 bps to 3.3%. The national unemployment rate decreased by 20 bps over the same time to 3.7%.
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV unemployment rate is 39 bps below the national rate which is a positive sign.
- Unemployment in the market is 320 bps below the unemployment rate in the market last year at this time, which is a positive.
- Average wages (per hour) grew in December versus prior month by 3.4% and are down compared to last year at this time in the market.
For key employment segments of the market, total jobs stayed flat. Key sectors include:
- Business Services: 798,000; -3,800
- Government: 717,800; -5,100
- Education & Healthcare: 442,600; +1,300
- Transportation & Utilities: 416,900; +5,900
- Restaurants & Hotels: 285,200; +1,600
- Other Jobs: 194,500; +900
- Construction, Mining: 162,800; -2,200
- Financial Services: 152,300; -200
- IT & Development: 73,200; -200
- Manufacturing: 57,000; +600
Data is based on the most recent 12 months available, through December 2021 (Data published February 2022 and reports created on February 4, 2022). Source: Government data agency and locally acquired statistics.
Note: All reported data is not seasonally adjusted.