District’s Unemployment Rate Drops to 9.9 Percent - Releases

Washington, DC – March 13, 2012 ---The District of Columbia Department of Employment Services reported today that the preliminary January job estimates show a decrease of 11,500 jobs, for a total of 724,300 jobs in the District. The private sector dropped 10,100 jobs, while the public sector payrolls decreased by 1,400 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.

The District’s unemployment rate was 9.9 percent in January and is down 0.2 percent from the previous month. The number of unemployed District residents decreased only slightly – from 34,800 in December 2011 to 34,400 in January 2012.

Based on more complete reporting from employers and 2011 benchmark revisions, previously released December estimates were revised upward to show an over-the-month (November-December) total non-farm employment decline of 3,900 jobs. The December revised unemployment rate decreased 0.3 percent to 10.1 percent from 10.4 percent.

Employment Overview

Trade, Transportation, and Utilities dropped 1,100 jobs, after a 200 job gain in December. With employment at 26,900, the sector is down by 400 jobs or -1.5 percent from a year ago.
Professional and Business Services dropped 3,900 jobs, after a 100 job loss in December. With employment at 148,900, jobs are up by 2,200 or 1.5 percent from a year ago.
Leisure and Hospitality dropped 1,600 jobs after a drop of 600 jobs in December. With employment at 61,400, jobs are up by 4,200 or 7.3 percent over the year.
Financial Activities decreased by 300 jobs, after a 300 job loss in December. With employment at 26,600, there was no over-the-year job change.
Educational and Health Services lost 2,100 jobs, after a loss of 2,600 jobs the prior month. With employment at 117,500, jobs are up by 4,800 or 4.3 percent from a year ago.
Other Services decreased by 600 jobs, after a gain of 100 jobs the prior month. At 68,100, employment is up by 2,600 or 4.0 percent from a year ago.
Construction lost 200 jobs, after a loss of 600 jobs in December. At 12,000, employment is up by 1,000 jobs or 9.1 percent from a year ago.
Information lost 300 jobs, after no over-the-month job change in December. At 18,200, employment is down by 100 jobs or -0.5 percent from one year ago.
Manufacturing had no over-the-month job change, after having no job change the prior month. With employment at 1,000, this sector is down by 100 jobs or -9.1 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 1,500 over the month to 312,100. The civilian labor force increased by 1,200 to 346,500.
One year ago, total employment was 311,300 and the civilian labor force was 345,900. The number of unemployed was 34,700, and the unemployment rate was 10.0 percent.

NOTES: The January final and February 2012 preliminary unemployment rate and survey of jobs data for the District will be released on Friday, March 30, 2012. Historical jobs and labor force estimates for the District of Columbia and detailed labor market information is available here.

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 2011 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.