November 4, 2026, by Eric Ness
DC's unemployment gap with the country is the widest since 1999
I live in DC, so this is the chart I wanted to write about first.
DC’s unemployment rate is usually higher than the country’s. It was higher in 47 of the last 50 years, so a higher number isn’t news. The size of the gap is. In 2025 DC ran 6.3% against 4.3% for the US.
- United States
- The District of Columbia
Show the numbers (50 rows)
| Year | United States | The District of Columbia |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4.3% | 6.3% |
| 2024 | 4.0% | 5.3% |
| 2023 | 3.6% | 4.9% |
| 2022 | 3.6% | 4.7% |
| 2021 | 5.3% | 6.8% |
| 2020 | 8.1% | 8.0% |
| 2019 | 3.7% | 5.5% |
| 2018 | 3.9% | 5.7% |
| 2017 | 4.4% | 6.1% |
| 2016 | 4.9% | 6.2% |
| 2015 | 5.3% | 6.9% |
| 2014 | 6.2% | 7.7% |
| 2013 | 7.4% | 8.4% |
| 2012 | 8.1% | 8.9% |
| 2011 | 8.9% | 10.1% |
| 2010 | 9.6% | 9.8% |
| 2009 | 9.3% | 9.6% |
| 2008 | 5.8% | 6.5% |
| 2007 | 4.6% | 5.5% |
| 2006 | 4.6% | 5.8% |
| 2005 | 5.1% | 6.5% |
| 2004 | 5.5% | 7.5% |
| 2003 | 6.0% | 6.8% |
| 2002 | 5.8% | 6.6% |
| 2001 | 4.7% | 6.3% |
| 2000 | 4.0% | 5.7% |
| 1999 | 4.2% | 6.5% |
| 1998 | 4.5% | 8.3% |
| 1997 | 4.9% | 8.2% |
| 1996 | 5.4% | 8.4% |
| 1995 | 5.6% | 8.6% |
| 1994 | 6.1% | 7.9% |
| 1993 | 6.9% | 8.4% |
| 1992 | 7.5% | 8.6% |
| 1991 | 6.8% | 7.7% |
| 1990 | 5.6% | 6.0% |
| 1989 | 5.3% | 4.8% |
| 1988 | 5.5% | 5.0% |
| 1987 | 6.2% | 6.2% |
| 1986 | 7.0% | 7.3% |
| 1985 | 7.2% | 8.0% |
| 1984 | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| 1983 | 9.6% | 10.8% |
| 1982 | 9.7% | 10.4% |
| 1981 | 7.6% | 8.8% |
| 1980 | 7.1% | 7.4% |
| 1979 | 5.8% | 6.8% |
| 1978 | 6.0% | 7.7% |
| 1977 | 7.0% | 8.6% |
| 1976 | 7.7% | 8.7% |
Two lines make the gap hard to read, so here is the distance between them.
- The years discussed here
- Other years
Show the numbers (50 rows)
| Year | DC minus the US |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 2.03 pts |
| 2024 | 1.27 pts |
| 2023 | 1.22 pts |
| 2022 | 1.05 pts |
| 2021 | 1.44 pts |
| 2020 | -0.09 pts |
| 2019 | 1.88 pts |
| 2018 | 1.79 pts |
| 2017 | 1.75 pts |
| 2016 | 1.34 pts |
| 2015 | 1.63 pts |
| 2014 | 1.55 pts |
| 2013 | 1.06 pts |
| 2012 | 0.88 pts |
| 2011 | 1.13 pts |
| 2010 | 0.15 pts |
| 2009 | 0.31 pts |
| 2008 | 0.72 pts |
| 2007 | 0.92 pts |
| 2006 | 1.20 pts |
| 2005 | 1.35 pts |
| 2004 | 1.98 pts |
| 2003 | 0.85 pts |
| 2002 | 0.82 pts |
| 2001 | 1.57 pts |
| 2000 | 1.68 pts |
| 1999 | 2.33 pts |
| 1998 | 3.75 pts |
| 1997 | 3.21 pts |
| 1996 | 3.05 pts |
| 1995 | 3.00 pts |
| 1994 | 1.85 pts |
| 1993 | 1.45 pts |
| 1992 | 1.06 pts |
| 1991 | 0.83 pts |
| 1990 | 0.42 pts |
| 1989 | -0.45 pts |
| 1988 | -0.50 pts |
| 1987 | 0.03 pts |
| 1986 | 0.35 pts |
| 1985 | 0.79 pts |
| 1984 | 1.32 pts |
| 1983 | 1.22 pts |
| 1982 | 0.68 pts |
| 1981 | 1.14 pts |
| 1980 | 0.25 pts |
| 1979 | 1.01 pts |
| 1978 | 1.69 pts |
| 1977 | 1.56 pts |
| 1976 | 1.02 pts |
The 2025 gap of 2.03 points is the widest since 1999, though only just. In 2004 it reached 1.98. Three stretches stand out, and the reasons below come from other sources. The timing fits them, but this data can’t prove them.
The late 1990s
The gap peaked at 3.75 points in 1998. From 1992 to 1998 DC’s rate barely moved, from 8.6% to 8.3%, while the US fell from 7.5% to 4.5%. The city was shrinking while the country recovered. Federal jobs in DC fell from 234,000 in January 1993 to 182,000 by October 2000, and DC lost 14% of its residents over the decade. The city government was cutting too. Mayor Marion Barry told a Senate subcommittee in 1997 that DC had lost about 40,000 jobs in three years, 90% of them federal or District.
The late 2010s
The gap went from 0.15 points in 2010 to 1.88 in 2019. Both rates fell after the recession, but the US fell further, 6.0 points to DC’s 4.2. The citywide number hides a split. In 2017 unemployment was 13% in Ward 8 and 10.3% in Ward 7, against 4% in Ward 3, according to the DC Fiscal Policy Institute. That shows who was still out of work. It doesn’t show what widened the gap.
2025
DC’s rate rose from 5.3% in January to 6.5% in November, according to the District’s own revenue office, while federal jobs in DC fell from 192,800 to 169,000. The DC Fiscal Policy Institute cautioned in June 2025 that the rise so far couldn’t all be pinned on federal cuts. The two numbers also count different people. This rate covers people who live in DC, and a federal job in DC can belong to someone in Maryland or Virginia.
These are yearly averages and they stop at 2025, so the charts can’t say anything about this year.
References
- Alston, Brittany. Labor Day: Breaking Down Barriers and Building Up Workers. DC Fiscal Policy Institute, August 31, 2018.
- Lee, Fitzroy. A lost decade? How the District fared in the 1990s, the last major downsizing of the federal workforce. DC Office of Revenue Analysis, May 1, 2025.
- Lee, Fitzroy. What does the November 2025 DC Employment Report say about the District’s job market? DC Office of Revenue Analysis, January 28, 2026.
- Markoff, Shira. Federal Layoffs Increase DC Unemployment and Threaten to Exacerbate Racial Inequity. DC Fiscal Policy Institute, June 2, 2025.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, the data behind both charts, via economicdata.dev laus, version 2026-10-26.1d9b973c73.
- U.S. Senate. District of Columbia Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1998. S. Hrg. 105-386, hearing of July 10, 1997.