NICOLAS MARTINEZ

The unemployment rate is only one out of many economic factors to determine the economic well-being of the country, but I’ve decided to just highlight it quickly below. The Washington area has traditionally had steady job security through the recession as a result of federal investment and government contracts. Many media reports highlight the District of Columbia (within the half-diamond) in comparison with state-level data. But I think it’s more fair to compare DC with other metropolitan areas. Then you have another problem – DC is still mostly urban, and lacks the benefits of suburban data that plump up the numbers. So I figured, hey, why not compare DC to itself. Below are the unemployment rates of strictly the District compared to the Washington Metro Area data (this includes Arlington County, Alexandria, and WV, MD).

Quite unfortunately, it seems that the people over the river and through the woods have a much higher chance at having a job. It’s clear that with added data from Northern Virginia – a more affluent and job secure area – the numbers bop up a bit. But that doesn’t mean DC is doing just fine.

Policymakers need to remember that for residents of DC proper, there are still be some struggles ahead. If compared with state-level data, the District has the second highest unemployment rate in the country. Even when compared to other metro areas, Washington still doesn’t rank well. Luckily there are some ways that DC city officials can help.