Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Washington fell 0.0 percentage points in October 2018 to 3.3%. 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 February 2010 at 6.7% and is now 3.4 percentage points lower. From a post peak low of 3.3% in May 2018, the unemployment rate has now grown by 0.0 percentage points. You can also compare Washington unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate	October 2018	Month/Month	Year/Year
National	3.7%	0.0	-0.4
District of Columbia	5.6%	-0.1	-0.3
Washington	3.3%	0.0	-0.3

Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.¹ All comparisons are made with October 2018 data as November metro level unemployment data has not yet been released.

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 March 2010 at 208,691. There are now 96,031 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	October 2018	Month/Month	Year/Year
Washington	112,660	-80	-10,528

Number of Unemployed Persons

Washington, District of Columbia Unemployment History

Date	National Unemployment Rate	District of Columbia Unemployment Rate	Washington Unemployment Rate	Washington Unemployed
November 2018	3.7%	—	—	—
October 2018	3.7%	5.6%	3.3%	112,660
September 2018	3.7%	5.7%	3.3%	112,740
August 2018	3.9%	5.6%	3.4%	114,845
July 2018	3.9%	5.6%	3.4%	115,396
June 2018	4.0%	5.6%	3.4%	116,769
May 2018	3.8%	5.6%	3.3%	113,109
April 2018	3.9%	5.6%	3.5%	118,523
March 2018	4.1%	5.6%	3.6%	122,620
February 2018	4.1%	5.7%	3.5%	119,240
January 2018	4.1%	5.8%	3.6%	121,153
December 2017	4.1%	5.9%	3.6%	121,859