Washington area unemployment rate drops

Unemployment in the Washington area dropped substantially in April, according to government data released Wednesday, evidence to some local economists that recovery is taking hold in the private sector even though the number of jobs created was lower than expected.

In April, the region's not-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 5.9 percent, compared with 6.6 percent in March, according to the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The region gained a net 5,800 jobs during the 12 months ended in April. Local economists had predicted that the increase would be as high as 20,000. Still, 5,800 represented the largest net gain of jobs among major U.S. metropolitan areas and marked the first time since October 2008 that the Washington region added more jobs than it lost.

"The losses are shrinking, and we're getting more gains," said Stephen S. Fuller, director of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University. "It's certainly a strong indicator of the spreading recovery."

In April, retail and hospitality added to their payrolls. And a category called "other services," which includes mainly nonprofit associations, turned positive by adding a net 2,000 jobs. Professional and business services gained a net 3,000 jobs.

Construction (minus 11,000) and state and local government (minus 8,000) were among the few sectors that experienced net job losses.

The government initially reported the Washington metro unemployment rate for March as 6.7 percent, but in the latest release adjusted it to 6.6 percent.

-- V. Dion Haynes

LOCKHEED DIVESTING PAIR OF UNITS

Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin announced Wednesday it is reshaping the company -- including divesting most of two units.

Lockheed said it planned to part with most of its Enterprise Integration Group (EIG) and Pacific Architects and Engineers (PAE), two units within its Information Systems and Global Services business area. EIG provides systems engineering and integration services.

The move to sell off EIG was driven in part by proposed new government contracting rules that seek to eliminate possible conflicts of interest when, say, a company builds a system and another unit is supposed to test it.

According to Lockheed, EIG and PAE together make up about 3 percent of its revenue, not an inconsequential amount for a contracting giant that reported $45.19 billion in revenue in 2009.

-- Marjorie Censer