Nonfarm employment for the Washington metro area jumped by 28,400 jobs from April 2007 to April 2008, for a total of 3,007,900 jobs in the region, according to Bureau of Labor statistics released Thursday.
This 1 percent increase marks the 70th consecutive monthly year-over-year growth in jobs dating back to July 2002, noted BLS Regional Commissioner Sheila Watkins.
The education and health services sectors grew the most both nationally and locally — by 3 percent nationwide and 2.7 percent in the Washington region. Jobs increased from 330,500 to 339,500 in the region in this sector.
In the wake of the housing downturn and credit problems, two sectors in particular — construction and financial services — were hit hard. Nationally, construction jobs decreased 5.4 percent from last April. In the Washington area, the construction industry, which was grouped with the natural resources and mining industries, fell to 179,500 jobs, a drop of 3.1 percent. (Natural resources and mining, which has its own category on a national level, added 4.1 percent more jobs.)
Financial services jobs were down 2.3 percent in the region, with the industry registering 156,100 jobs in April 2008. Overall, the sector lost 1.1 percent of its jobs across the country. Of the 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the country, the Washington region tied for fourth place with the Boston-Cambridge area in terms of job growth. The Houston area grew 2.8 percent; Dallas-Fort Worth expanded 2.3 percent; and the Atlanta region grew by 1.2 percent. Detroit, with a 2.6 percent job loss, had the worst decline.
“As other technology centers lose jobs, we tend to keep growing because people find a strong economy and opportunities here,” said Jerry Gordon, president and chief executive officer of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority.
The leisure and hospitality sector only grew by 0.7 percent in the region, compared with 2.3 percent growth nationwide. The DC Chamber of Commerce, in a report also released Thursday, highlighted hospitality as one of the “underdeveloped core sectors in which the District possesses a clear comparative advantage.”
