The District’s unemployment rate ticked downward in January, but the city shed nearly 1 percent of its jobs that month, the federal government said Tuesday. Unemployment figures in Maryland and Virginia also showed tepid improvement.
In D.C., the unemployment rate stood at 9.9 percent, a slight decrease from December and the first time the measure dipped below the double-digit threshold since July 2009. In December, the city’s unemployment rate was 10.1 percent after the government revised its initial estimate.
| Slightly better |
| Unemployment rates fell in 45 states and the District in January. Mississippi and Missouri improved the most. |
| D.C.: 9.9 percent (– 0.2 percent) |
| Maryland: 6.5 percent (– 0.1 percent) |
| Virginia: 5.8 percent (– 0.3 percent) |
| Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics |
Mayor Vincent Gray, who last week unveiled a $2 million effort to jump-start hiring in the District, was “thrilled” by the new numbers. “We’re trending in the right direction,” Gray said in a statement.
Although Gray hailed the drop in the unemployment rate, the District’s economic picture remains troubled. The city’s unemployment rate is still nearly 20 percent higher than the national average, and January brought a month-over-month decline in jobs of 6,100. That number — nearly 1 percent of the District’s jobs — was a higher percentage drop than any state’s.
About 3,300 of those lost positions were in government, and an additional 1,700 were in education and health services. The financial services and construction sectors posted slight gains.
Despite the January drop, the District still gained 8,700 jobs over a yearlong span that ended in January.
Richard Clinch, a University of Baltimore economic development expert, warned the month-over-month figures could be misleading.
“I would not consider this part of a broader pattern,” Clinch said. “The monthly figures, especially for small geographies, are quite suspect.”
In Annapolis, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, struck a partisan tone as his state marked its lowest unemployment rate in three years.
“This steady progress in job creation is a positive sign that Maryland continues to move forward,” O’Malley said. “Maryland has now recovered 69 percent of the jobs lost during the Bush recession.”
In Virginia, though, Gov. Bob McDonnell, who leads the GOP’s association of governors, was more harmonious.
“This bipartisan effort is getting results,” McDonnell said. “Our work is not done, but today’s jobs numbers demonstrate that Virginia is on the right track.”
