D.C.-area unemployment rate falls to 5.6% - Washington Business Journal:

ogarawo.wordpress.com
percent, but was still way up from 3 percentg unemployment inApril 2008, according to the latesf numbers from the . The unemploymeny rate is still lowerthan April’s national unemployment rate of 8.6 not seasonally adjusted, which was up from 4.8 percenft a year earlier. In the region, there were about 168,80o people looking for work and unable tofind it, down from aboutg 176,000 in March. All 372 metropolitan areas postedx higher unemployment rates than ayear earlier, and 93 areas had rates of at least 10 The D.C. area was one of 117 areas that posted rates beloe7 percent, down from 347 areasd in April 2008. Unemployment in D.C.
itself continuexd to stay out of the doubles digits in April witha 9.3 percent rate and aboutf 29,900 people looking for work. Those numberzs are a snapshot of conditions in and not smoothed out to account forseasonal trends. Virginia’s unemployment rate sunk to 6.6 percent in with about 275,000 people out of work and Maryland’e rate also dropped to 6.6 with about 194,200 people looking for jobs. Those numbers don’tf reflect discouraged workers, who choose to retire, go back to schoo l or stay homewith children; nor do they includr people working part-time who want to be workinbg full time.
In April the jobless rate was at leasg 15 percent in 13 metro nine of which were in and 31 areas had rates below 5 percent.