Area Jobless Rate at Record High

Local 6.1% Unemployment Is Still Low by National Standards

The Washington area's unemployment rate almost doubled in the past year, rising to 6.1 percent in February from 3.2 percent a year earlier, according to figures released yesterday.

It is the first time the local unemployment rate has been over 6 percent since at least 1990, the earliest date for which comparable data are available, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It's also the area's biggest year-over-year gain in unemployment during the current recession.

Washington's unemployment is still low by national standards, as the U.S. jobless rate hit 8.9 percent in February, not seasonally adjusted.

The local labor force continued to grow in February, adding 4,500 jobs from the previous month, when the jobless rate was 5.6 percent.

Bob Peck of commercial real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle said that as the area has become less dependent on federal jobs, it has become less immune to national economic trends. Government contractors can scale back in a way the federal government can't, said Peck, former president of the Greater Washington Board of Trade.

"It's the flip side of now being a pretty vibrant, diversified economy," Peck said.

Also yesterday, the Virginia Employment Commission released data showing that Northern Virginia's unemployment rate was 5.2 percent in February, lower than the national, state and metro area averages but up from 2.7 percent in February 2008.

The main problems in Northern Virginia are from construction and retail, according to William Mezger, chief economist for the commission.

He said he expects unemployment to remain high by historical standards for at least the next five or six months.

Every U.S. metro area's jobless rate rose in February. Unemployment surpassed 15 percent in 14 metro areas, and El Centro, Calif., an agricultural area about 100 miles east of San Diego, had the highest rate, at 24.5 percent.

"About the only thing we can say is we're better off than most everywhere else," said John McClain, deputy director of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University.

Last week, BLS released state-by-state data showing the District's unemployment rate hitting 9.9 percent in February. Maryland's jobless rate was 6.7 percent, and Virginia's 6.6 percent.

Peck pointed to the federal government's stimulus plan as possibly boosting Washington's economy, both through projects and through federal employment.

"Whether there's enough stimulus money to completely replace what the private market would have done, probably not, but there's enough to mitigate the impact," he said.