Overall unemployment rate moved up to 3.7% with the biggest shift in Restaurants & Hotels, which gained 10,600 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 25,476 jobs in June and the unemployment rate increased compared to the prior month by 40 bps to 3.7%. The national unemployment rate increased by 46 bps over the same time to 3.8%.

  • Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV unemployment rate is 14 bps below the national rate which is a positive sign.
  • Unemployment in the market is 200 bps below the unemployment rate in the market last year at this time, which is a positive.
  • Average wages (per hour) grew in June versus prior month by 4.9% and are down compared to last year at this time in the market.
Month over Month Unemployment Change
Year over Year Unemployment Change
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Unemployment June 2022

For key employment segments of the market, total jobs grew by 0.9% . Key sectors include:

  • Business Services: 800,200; +6,600
  • Government: 709,500; -4,800
  • Education & Healthcare: 433,400; +500
  • Transportation & Utilities: 407,200; +6,600
  • Restaurants & Hotels: 315,900; +10,600
  • Other Jobs: 199,200; +1,200
  • Construction, Mining: 167,100; +3,400
  • Financial Services: 154,800; +3,100
  • IT & Development: 78,500; +1,800
  • Manufacturing: 56,300; +800
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Unemployment by Industry June 2022

Data is based on the most recent 12 months available, through June 2022 (Data published August 2022 and reports created on August 3, 2022).  Source: Government data agency and locally acquired statistics.

Note: All reported data is not seasonally adjusted.