The local economy of District of Columbia and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data.
Unemployment rate
5.7%
August 2026, 6.5% a year ago
Average weekly pay
$2,725
Q1 2026, 715,766 jobs
New homes permitted
1,976
Last 12 months to August 2026
Net people moving in
-3,043
2022 to 2023
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for its history.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for District of Columbia, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for District of Columbia is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row.
The unemployment rate in District of Columbia was 5.7% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 6.5% a year earlier. 379,289 people were employed out of a labor force of 402,398.
Average weekly pay in District of Columbia was $2,725 in Q1 2026, up 4.5% from a year earlier, across 715,766 jobs at 51,365 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 202 new homes in District of Columbia in August 2026 (15 single-family and 185 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 1,466, up 35.6% from the same months last year, and 1,976 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Washington DC (1,976) over the last 12 months.
No, more people moved out than in. From 2022 to 2023, 42,408 people moved to District of Columbia and 45,451 moved away, a net loss of 3,043 (-6.3 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from Maryland, Virginia, New York, and most people who left went to Maryland, Virginia, New York.
The weekly survey does not publish a separate price for District of Columbia. In its region, Central Atlantic, regular gasoline averaged $4.41 per gallon in the week of September 28, 2026.