Overall unemployment rate moved up to 3.0% with the biggest shift in Transportation & Utilities, which lost 13,500 roles, based on the most recently available information published in March 2023.
Total employment in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV market rose by 66,775 jobs in January and the unemployment rate increased compared to the prior month by 20 bps to 3.0%. The national unemployment rate increased by 60 bps over the same time to 3.9%.
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV unemployment rate is 86 bps below the national rate which is a positive sign.
- Unemployment in the market is 100 bps below the unemployment rate in the market last year at this time, which is a positive.
- Average wages (per hour) grew in January versus prior month by 0.9% and are up compared to last year at this time in the market.
For key employment segments of the market, total jobs declined by -1.5%. Key sectors include:
- Business Services: 799,700; -6,400
- Government: 719,000; -7,100
- Education & Healthcare: 446,400; -4,100
- Transportation & Utilities: 402,000; -13,500
- Restaurants & Hotels: 297,000; -7,400
- Other Jobs: 193,900; -100
- Construction, Mining: 161,400; -4,300
- Financial Services: 152,000; -2,800
- IT & Development: 78,800; -1,500
- Manufacturing: 56,800; -1,700
Data is based on the most recent 12 months available, through January 2023 (Data published March 2023 and reports created on March 17, 2023). Source: Government data agency and locally acquired statistics.
Note: All reported data is not seasonally adjusted.