Overall unemployment rate moved down to 3.5% with the biggest shift in Government, which lost 16,100 roles, based on the most recently available information published in August 2022.
Total employment in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV market rose by 12,485 jobs in July and the unemployment rate decreased compared to the prior month by 20 bps to 3.5%. The national unemployment rate decreased by 5 bps over the same time to 3.8%.
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV unemployment rate is 28 bps below the national rate which is a positive sign.
- Unemployment in the market is 190 bps below the unemployment rate in the market last year at this time, which is a positive.
- Average wages (per hour) grew in July versus prior month by 3.7% and are up compared to last year at this time in the market.
For key employment segments of the market, total jobs declined by -0.2%. Key sectors include:
- Business Services: 805,900; +5,500
- Government: 693,600; -16,100
- Education & Healthcare: 438,100; +4,200
- Transportation & Utilities: 407,600; no change
- Restaurants & Hotels: 316,400; +1,500
- Other Jobs: 199,700; +900
- Construction, Mining: 166,500; -500
- Financial Services: 152,200; -2,000
- IT & Development: 79,400; +1,200
- Manufacturing: 56,300; no change
Data is based on the most recent 12 months available, through July 2022 (Data published August 2022 and reports created on September 2, 2022). Source: Government data agency and locally acquired statistics.
Note: All reported data is not seasonally adjusted.