Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia Unemployment
The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Washington fell 0.1 percentage points in February 2021 to 5.8%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 2.3 percentage points lower than the District of Columbia rate. The unemployment rate in Washington peaked in April 2020 at 10.1% and is now 4.3 percentage points lower. You can also compare Washington unemployment with unemployment in other cities.
| Unemployment Rate | February 2021 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| National | 6.2% | -0.1 | +2.7 |
| District of Columbia | 8.1% | -0.3 | +3.1 |
| Washington | 5.8% | -0.1 | +2.9 |
Unemployment Rate: Washington, District of Columbia, National
Note: Recessions shown in gray.
Washington, District of Columbia Unemployed
The number of people unemployed in Washington peaked in April 2020 at 342,271. There are now 150,941 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. Washington employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in Washington, District of Columbia) is also available.
| Unemployed Persons | February 2021 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 191,330 | -2,726 | +89,923 |
Number of Unemployed Persons
Washington, District of Columbia Unemployment History
| Date | National Unemployment Rate |
District of Columbia Unemployment Rate |
Washington Unemployment Rate |
Washington Unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2021 |
6.0% | — | — | — |
| February 2021 |
6.2% | 8.1% | 5.8% | 191,330 |
| January 2021 |
6.3% | 8.4% | 5.9% | 194,056 |
| December 2020 |
6.7% | 8.8% | 6.0% | 201,777 |
| November 2020 |
6.7% | 8.8% | 6.1% | 203,948 |
| October 2020 |
6.9% | 8.8% | 6.7% | 225,772 |
| September 2020 |
7.8% | 8.7% | 7.0% | 235,264 |
| August 2020 |
8.4% | 8.8% | 6.9% | 234,829 |
| July 2020 |
10.2% | 8.9% | 7.9% | 269,170 |
| June 2020 |
11.1% | 8.9% | 8.2% | 278,696 |
| May 2020 |
13.3% | 8.9% | 9.1% | 303,164 |
| April 2020 |
14.8% | 11.1% | 10.1% | 342,271 |
1. Metro area unemployment rates are now seasonally adjusted. The BLS has started publishing smoothed seasonally adjusted metropolitan area data which makes comparisons to state and national data more relevant than the unadjusted numbers. ↩
Department of Numbers
The Department of Numbers contextualizes public data so that individuals can form independent opinions on everyday social and economic matters.
