District of Columbia Economy Adds 4,000 Private Sector Jobs in November - Releases

DC – December 20, 2011 ---The District of Columbia Department of Employment Services reported today that the preliminary November job estimates show an increase of 3,200 jobs, for a total of 719,000 jobs in the District. The private sector added 4,000 jobs, while the public sector payrolls were reduced by 800 jobs. The numbers are drawn from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) through its monthly survey of the District of Columbia’s employers. Since January, total private sector employment has increased by 3.7 percent, or 17,100 jobs.

The District’s unemployment rate was 10.6 percent in November, a 0.4 percent decline from the previous month. The number of unemployed District residents decreased only slightly – from 36,600 in October to 35,500 in November 2011.

Based on more complete reporting from employers, previously released October estimates were revised downward to show an over-the-month (September-October) total non-farm employment gain of 5,100 jobs. The October revised unemployment rate was unchanged at 11.0 percent.

Employment Overview

Trade, Transportation, and Utilities gained 700 jobs, after a 400 job gain in October. With employment at 26,900, the sector is down by 200 jobs or -0.7 percent from a year ago.
Professional and Business Services added 1,100 jobs, after a 1,100 job gain in October. With employment at 154,100, jobs are up by 2,600 or 1.7 percent from a year ago.
Leisure and Hospitality increased by 100 jobs after a gain of 1,500 jobs in October. With employment at 60,600, jobs are up by 1,100 or 1.8 percent over the year.
Financial Activities increased by 200 jobs, after a 200 job loss in October. With employment at 27,200, jobs are up by 1,000 or 3.8 percent from a year ago.
Educational and Health Services gained 1,500 jobs, after a gain of 3,000 jobs the prior month. With employment at 113,000, jobs are down by 100 or -0.1 percent from a year ago.
Other Services increased by 500 jobs, after a gain of 500 jobs the prior month. At 64,100, employment is down by 100 or -0.2 percent from a year ago.
Construction had no over-the-month job change, after having no over-the-month change in October. At 11,100, employment is up by 500 jobs or 4.7 percent from a year ago.
Information lost 100 jobs, after having no over-the-month change in October. At 18,500, employment is down by 200 jobs or -1.1 percent from one year ago.
Manufacturing had no over-the-month job change, after having no job change the prior month. With employment at 1,100, this sector is down by 100 jobs or -8.3 percent from a year ago. Employment in manufacturing has remained constantly stable. Manufacturing is the smallest sector in the District, accounting for less than 0.2 percent of total payroll employment.

Labor Force Overview

The number of District residents employed increased by 1,900 over the month to 298,600. The civilian labor force increased by 800 to 334,100.
One year ago, total employment was 299,100 and the civilian labor force was 331,000. The number of unemployed was 32,000, and the unemployment rate was 9.7 percent.

NOTES: The December 2011 unemployment rate and survey of jobs data for the District will be released on Tuesday, January 24, 2012. Historical jobs and labor force estimates for the District of Columbia and detailed labor market information is available at: http://www.does.dc.gov/does/cwp/view,a,1233,q,538345,doesNav,|32064|.asp .

Technical Notes: Estimates of industry employment and unemployment levels are arrived at through the use of two different monthly surveys.

Industry employment data are derived through the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey, a monthly survey of business establishments conducted by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the US Department of Labor, which provides estimates of employment, hours, and earnings data broken down by industry for the nation as a whole, all states, and most major metropolitan areas (often referred to as the “establishment” survey).

Resident employment and unemployment data are mainly derived from the District’s portion of the national Current Population Survey (CPS), a household survey conducted each month by the US Census Bureau under contract with BLS, which provides input to the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program (often referred to as the “household” survey).

Both industry and household estimates are revised each month based on additional information from updated survey reports compiled by BLS. In addition, these estimates are benchmarked (revised) annually based on actual counts from the District’s Unemployment Compensation Law administrative records and other data.

Data reflects 2010 annual benchmark revisions.

Wage and Salary Employment by Industry and Place of Work*

Employment Status for the Civilian Population*

Announcement: Changes to the Procedures for Producing Current Employment Statistics (CES) State Estimates
Production of March Preliminary Current Employment Statistics Data
The production of State and metropolitan area Current Employment Statistics (CES) estimates has transitioned from State Workforce Agencies to the BLS with the production of preliminary estimates for March 2011. Concurrent with this transition, the BLS will implement several methodological changes to standardize the estimation approach across States. While these changes will reduce the potential for statistical bias in state and metropolitan area estimates, they may increase the month-to-month variability of the estimates. More detailed information on the changes to procedures for producing CES estimates is available on the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/sae/cesprocs.htm.