March 13, 2012 | 3:44 PM | By

D.C. Unemployment Declines

D.C.’s unemployment rate dropped to 9.9 percent in January, down from 10.1 percent the month before, according to preliminary data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. January’s national unemployment rate was 8.3 percent.

The District’s unemployment rate remained above 10 percent throughout 2011, so the slight dip is good news. But D.C. actually lost 11,500 jobs in January. DCist reports on how the city’s unemployment rate could have dropped despite the declining number of jobs:


One reason the District’s jobless rate fell while even though the number of jobs decreased as well might be the number of D.C. residents who are finding work in the suburbs, said David Cooper, an expert in state labor trends with the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute.

“For the District in particular we’re seeing people move into the District but taking jobs in Virginia and Maryland,” Cooper said in an interview. “Certainly the unemployment rate going down is good news. People finding jobs is good news, whether in the District, Maryland or Virginia.”

Read more at: dcist.com