DC has highest unemployment rate when compared to states

Forty-six states and D.C. all had September unemployment rates that were lower than a year ago, but the District’s unemployment rate remains high and, when compared to states, is the highest in the nation.

The District’s unemployment rate in September was 4.7%, down from 5.1% in August and much lower than 6.5% a year earlier.



Maryland’s unemployment rate was 4% in September, down from 4.3% in August. Virginia’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 2.6%.

Minnesota had the lowest September unemployment rate, at 2%, followed by Utah and Vermont, at 2.1% each.

Virginia added 134,700 jobs in the last year, for an annual job growth rate of 3.4%. Maryland gained 88,500 jobs, for a job growth rate of 3.3%.

In the District, the number of jobs rose by 20,100 in the past year, a job growth rate of 2.7%.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics posts monthly state unemployment numbers and changes to civilian workforce online.

Jeff Clabaugh

Jeff Clabaugh has spent 20 years covering the Washington region's economy and financial markets for WTOP as part of a partnership with the Washington Business Journal, and officially joined the WTOP newsroom staff in January 2016.

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