The District of Columbia Department of Employment Services reported today that the preliminary February job estimates show an increase of 5,900 jobs, for a total of 731,700 jobs in the District. The private sector gained 7,100 jobs, while the public sector payrolls decreased by 1,200 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 February and is unchanged from the previous month. The number of unemployed District residents decreased only slightly – from 34,400 in January 2012 to 34,300 in February 2012.
Based on more complete reporting from employers, previously released January estimates were revised upward to show an over-the-month (December-January) total non-farm employment decline of 10,000 jobs. The January revised unemployment rate remained at 9.9 percent.
Employment Overview
- Trade, Transportation, and Utilities gained 100 jobs, after a 1,100 job drop in January. With employment at 27,000, the sector is down by 100 jobs or -0.4 percent from a year ago.
- Professional and Business Services gained 700 jobs, after a 3,600 job loss in January. With employment at 149,900, jobs are up by 2,500 or 1.7 percent from a year ago.
- Leisure and Hospitality gained 300 jobs after a drop of 1,600 jobs in January. With employment at 61,700, jobs are up by 3,200 or 5.5 percent over the year.
- Financial Activities increased by 100 jobs, after a 300 job loss in January. With employment at 26,700, jobs are up by 200 or 0.8% from one year ago.
- Educational and Health Services increased by 5,000 jobs, after a loss of 1,000 jobs the prior month. With employment at 123,600, jobs are up by 10,000 or 8.8 percent from a year ago.
- Other Services increased by 400 jobs, after a decline of 500 jobs the prior month. At 68,600, employment is up by 2,500 or 3.8 percent from a year ago.
- Construction gained 400 jobs, after a loss of 200 jobs in January. At 12,400, employment is up by 1,300 jobs or 11.7 percent from a year ago.
- Information gained 100 jobs, after a loss of 300 jobs in January. At 18,300, employment is down by 200 jobs or -1.1 percent from one year ago.
- Manufacturing continues to have no over-the-month job change, after having no job change the prior month. With employment at 1,000, this sector had no change in jobs 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 1,400 over the month to 313,600. The civilian labor force increased by 1,300 to 347,900.
- One year ago, total employment was 311,400 and the civilian labor force was 346,000. The number of unemployed was 34,500, and the unemployment rate was 10.0 percent.
NOTES: The February final and March 2012 preliminary unemployment rate and survey of jobs data for the District will be released on Friday, April 20, 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 2011 annual benchmark revisions.
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 website at http://www.bls.gov/sae/cesprocs.htm.