District’s Unemployment Rate Drops to 8.4 Percent in November

District’s Unemployment Rate Drops to 8.4 Percent in November

Mayor Gray Welcomes Drop to Lowest Level in Almost Four Years

(WASHINGTON, DC) – Mayor Vincent C. Gray today hailed news from the Department of Employment Services (DOES) that the District’s unemployment rate dropped to 8.4 percent in November – a drop of one-tenth of a percentage point from the previous month and the continuation of a significant trend that has seen the District’s unemployment rate drop by 1.8 percentage points in the past 12 months– from 10.2 percent in November 2011. Since January of 2011, 24,100 jobs have been created in the District–28,300 in the private sector–government lost 4,200 jobs.

November’s figures mark the ninth consecutive month that the District’s unemployment rate has decreased and the lowest unemployment rate since January of 2009.

“The District’s unemployment rate continues to decline, and we continue to approach the nation’s overall unemployment rate,” Mayor Gray said. “But we will continue our efforts – such as the innovative One City ● One Hire program – to ensure that we continue to get our residents back to work. I am absolutely committed to making sure that every District resident who wants a job can find one.”

This over-the-year drop in unemployment in the District of Columbia was the fourth largest among all the states in the country (after Nevada, Mississippi, and Florida).