(Washington, DC)  The District’s Department of Employment Services (DOES) announced today that the District of Columbia's seasonally adjusted August 2008 unemployment rate was 6.9 percent, up 0.2 percent from the July 2008 rate.  The August 2008 rate was 1.2 percent higher than the rate in August 2007.

The seasonally adjusted national unemployment rate increased by 0.4 percent  in August 2008 from the July 2008 rate of 5.7 percent and 1.4 percent higher than the August 2007 rate.

District of Columbia’s Civilian Labor Force, Employment and Unemployment 

The not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for August 2008 was 7.0 percent; down 0.2 percent from the rate in July 2008 and 1.3 percent higher than the rate in August 2007.
 
Throughout the month, the District’s civilian labor force decreased by 3,000 to 337,400.  A total of 313,800 residents were employed and 23,600 were unemployed in August 2008.  A 2,100 decrease in the number of employed residents along with a 900 decrease in the number of unemployed residents resulted in a 0.2 percent decrease in the not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate.
 
From August 2007 to August 2008, the District’s civilian labor force increased by 9,600 as the number of employed and unemployment residents increased by 4,800 each. The District’s August 2008 unemployment rate was 1.3 percent higher than the rate in August 2007.

The August 2008 national unemployment rate of 6.1 percent (not seasonally adjusted) was 0.1 percent higher than the rate in July 2008 and 1.5 percent higher than the rate in August 2007.

District of Columbia Job Growth

The number of District wage and salary jobs decreased by 400 in August 2008. The private sector increased by 200 jobs while the public sector decreased by 600 jobs. In the private sector, natural resources and construction and educational and health services added 400 jobs each, financial activities added 200 jobs, professional and business services lost 300 jobs, trade, transportation and utilities, and other services lost 200 jobs each, while information lost 100 jobs. Meanwhile, manufacturing, leisure and hospitality were unchanged throughout the month. In the public sector, the District Government gained 400 jobs; transportation gained 100 jobs; while the federal government lost 1,100 jobs.

In the last twelve months, the District gained a total of 21,600 jobs. The private sector added 14,500 jobs and the public sector gained 7,100 jobs. The private sector growth occurred in educational and health services (up by 8,400 jobs), professional and business services (up by 3,000 jobs), other services (up by 2,800 jobs), leisure and hospitality (up by 1,600 jobs), natural resources, mining and construction, and trade, transportation and utilities (up 100 jobs each). Losses were noted in information (down by 1,100 jobs), financial activities (down 300 jobs), and manufacturing (down 100 jobs). In the public sector, the federal government increased by 1,800 jobs; District government gained 5,000 jobs; and transportation added 300 jobs