District of Columbia Unemployment Rate at 5.7 Percent in August

Washington, DC - The District of Columbia's Department of Employment Services reported today that the seasonally adjusted preliminary unemployment rate was 5.7 percent in August 2026, a decrease of 0.2 percentage points from the revised July 2026 rate of 5.9 percent.

The District's preliminary August job estimate shows a decrease of 18,600 jobs, for a total of 713,600 jobs in the District. The private sector decreased by 6,100 jobs. The public sector decreased by 12,500. The numbers are drawn from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) through its monthly survey of the District of Columbia's employers.

The number of employed District residents increased by 1,200 from 378,100 in July 2026 to 379,300 in August 2026. The civilian labor force for the District increased by 500 from 401,900 in July 2026 to 402,400 in August 2026. The labor force participation rate increased by 0.1 percentage points from 70.2 percent in July 2026 to 70.3 percent in August 2026.

Employment Overview

• Manufacturing sector remained the same, after remaining the same in the prior month. With employment at 1,000 jobs, jobs decreased by 100 or 9.09 percent from a year ago.
• Mining, Logging and Construction sectors decreased by 300 jobs, after increasing by 100 in the prior month. With employment at 14,300 jobs, jobs increased by 300 or 2.14 percent from a year ago.
• Trade, Transportation, and Utilities sector decreased by 300 jobs, after remaining the same in the prior month. With employment at 29,400 jobs, jobs decreased by 200 or 0.68 percent from a year ago.
• Information sector remained the same, after remaining the same in the prior month. With employment at 17,600 jobs, jobs decreased by 600 or 3.3 percent from a year ago.
• Financial Activities sector decreased by 300 jobs, after increasing by 400 jobs in the prior month. With employment at 25,000 jobs, jobs decreased by 100 or 0.4 percent from a year ago.
• Professional and Business Services sector decreased by 3,000 jobs, after increasing by 500 jobs in the prior month. With employment at 160,000 jobs, jobs decreased by 4,800 or 2.91 percent from a year ago.
• Educational and Health Services sector decreased by 100 jobs, after decreasing by 1,900 jobs in the prior month. With employment at 121,800 jobs, jobs decreased by 1,600 jobs or 1.3 percent from a year ago.
• Leisure and Hospitality sector decreased by 1,600 jobs, after increasing by 200 jobs in the prior month. With employment at 76,100 jobs, jobs increased by 500 jobs or 0.66 percent from a year ago.
• Other Services sector decreased by 500 jobs, after remaining the same in the prior month. With employment at 63,000 jobs, jobs increased by 200 jobs or 0.32 percent from a year ago.

Labor Force Overview

• The number of employed District residents increased by 1,200 over the month to 379,300. The civilian labor force increased by 500 to 402,400.
• One year ago, total employment was 382,800 and the civilian labor force was 409,400.

The number of unemployed was 26,600, and the unemployment rate was 6.5 percent.

Technical Notes: Estimates of industry employment and unemployment levels are determined through the use of two different monthly surveys.

Industry employment data is derived from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey, a monthly survey of business establishments conducted by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the US Department of Labor, which provides estimates of employment, hours, and earnings data broken down by industry for the nation as a whole, all states, and most major metropolitan areas (often referred to as the "establishment" survey).

Resident employment and unemployment data are mainly derived from the District's portion of the national Current Population Survey (CPS), a household survey conducted each month by the US Census Bureau under contract with BLS, which provides input to the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program (often referred to as the "household" survey).