Oct. job growth pushes down area unemployment rates

Modest growth in private-sector jobs fueled an across-the-board drop in the unemployment rates in the District, Maryland and Virginia in October, according to a Labor Department report released last week. The drop stemmed what had been a steady rise in the jobless level during the past few months.

The District’s unemployment rate dipped to 11 percent in October, down from its record high of 11.2 percent the month before. Maryland’s dropped to 7.2 percent from 7.4 percent, while Virginia’s rate fell to 6.4 percent from 6.5 percent.

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Maryland and Virginia are well below the U.S. jobless rate of 9 percent for October, but the District is well above the national rate.

Virginia’s unemployment rate is down only two-tenths of a percentage point from October 2010, and Maryland’s is one-tenth of a percentage point lower. Meanwhile, the District’s unemployment rate is far higher than the 9.7 percent level it was at in October 2010.

The District posted a net gain of about 1,500 jobs in October, the report said. Sectors that grew included professional and business services, up 1,500 jobs; leisure and hospitality, up 1,200; retail, up 300; and construction, up 100. Sectors that lost jobs were government, down 1,000; education and health, down 800; and financial activities, down 400.

In Maryland, sectors that showed net growth included retail, up 2,100 jobs; financial activities, up 1,500; education and health, up 1,400; and government, up 1,200. Sectors that suffered job losses were leisure and hospitality, down 1,300; construction, down 1,100; professional and business services, down 300; and manufacturing, down 200.

Those sectors that lost jobs suffered job losses were leisure and hospitality, down 1,300; construction, down 1,100; professional and business services, down 300; and manufacturing, down 200.

Virginia’s gainers included leisure and hospitality, up 5,800 jobs; professional and business services, up 4,200; construction, up 2,800; education and health up, 2,100; and government, up 800. Retail was the only loser, down 1,500 jobs.

The unemployment rate fell in the District and 36 states. It rose in five states and remained the same in nine states.