Though unemployment remains steady nationally the Washington area is in the midst of an increasing labor shortage.
Across the country the unemployment rate has held at 4.5 percent for the last three months according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
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While official local figuresare not available for June, unemployment in the District of Columbia decreased from 5.7 percent in April to 5.6 percent in May according to D.C.’s Department of Employment Services. Maryland’s Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation reported the state’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.6 percent. In Virginia, statistics from the Virginia Employment Commission show statewide unemployment decreased from 2.9 percent to 2.8 percent.
The Northern Virginia area is even tougher for employers, said Professor John McClain, who estimated the unemployment rate in the state’s Washington suburbs at around 2.1 percent. McClain, a senior fellow at George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis, said the DC region overall has an unemployment rate of about 2.9 percent.
Over the next five years, McClain said, the area will add about 40-45,000 new jobs a year, as opposed to the last three years with 65,000 jobs added each year.
Professional and business services have accounted for 65 percent of the jobs created in the private sector over the last 12 months in the District, said Tim Priest, executive director of the Greater Washington Initiative.
The metro area is the “number one knowledge center” with a wide variety of sectors ranging from technology, to professional services, to arts and media, legal services, and engineering, Priest notes, citing his organization’s Human Capital study.
The labor shortage in the region is of concern and Priest suggested boosting enrollment in universities for key fields such as accounting, health care, and information technology. The area might also be able to attract additional employees from other cities, he said.
One of the key hindrances in recruitment is the expensive housing market and prices will only rise in the future, McClain predicted. Despite rising housing costs, the area has seen an influx of young professionals who want to live andwork in mixed-use areas.
McClain on Immigration
» One of the reasons our economy has done so well is because of immigrants, who have filled construction and hospitality jobs, says McClain. “If we hadn’t had them here, our economy would have struggled.” In general, a lot of people in the construction, hotel, restaurant industries are probably grateful that immigrants are available.
