Washington DC has the highest unemployment rate in the US

[Anonymous]

DC’s highly qualified workers can’t find jobs: ‘What is happening?’
Washington DC has the highest unemployment rate in the US
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/07/washington-dc-highly-qualified-workers-unemployment

Washington DC’s unemployment rate is now the highest since August 2015, excluding the pandemic, according to the most recent data. More than 300,000 jobs have been cut from the federal government, the region’s largest employer, since 2024. The cuts came after Donald Trump led a purge of federal employees, a move he said was meant to “eliminate waste” and a task he assigned to Elon Musk and his “department of government efficiency” (Doge).

By January, federal public employment had fallen to its lowest level in at least a decade, affecting many other businesses and sectors. As a result, DC now has the highest unemployment rate in the country (6.7%), followed by California (5.5%). And the experts don’t believe the situation will improve in the short term.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC’s highly qualified workers can’t find jobs: ‘What is happening?’
Washington DC has the highest unemployment rate in the US
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/07/washington-dc-highly-qualified-workers-unemployment

Washington DC’s unemployment rate is now the highest since August 2015, excluding the pandemic, according to the most recent data. More than 300,000 jobs have been cut from the federal government, the region’s largest employer, since 2024. The cuts came after Donald Trump led a purge of federal employees, a move he said was meant to “eliminate waste” and a task he assigned to Elon Musk and his “department of government efficiency” (Doge).

By January, federal public employment had fallen to its lowest level in at least a decade, affecting many other businesses and sectors. As a result, DC now has the highest unemployment rate in the country (6.7%), followed by California (5.5%). And the experts don’t believe the situation will improve in the short term.

Sorry, DC is tiny part of the MSA.

NOVA and Md are doing pretty solid and in line with other areas:

https://www.bls.gov/web/metro/laulrgma.htm

[Anonymous]

I think a lot of people in DC don't want to work and they are surviving on Govt assistance, section 8 housing and others form of Govt payments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think a lot of people in DC don't want to work and they are surviving on Govt assistance, section 8 housing and others form of Govt payments.

No section 8 voucher is even needed because you don't need to pay rent in DC!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/09/26/dc-affordable-housing-bill/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/09/25/dc-affordable-housing-crisis/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think a lot of people in DC don't want to work and they are surviving on Govt assistance, section 8 housing and others form of Govt payments.

The “highly qualified” workers from the article?

[Anonymous]

If I am not mistaken, DC proper has literally always had the highest unemployment in the country.

Once more, it's crazy to compare just a city to entire states, but it has averaged nearly in the 6% like forever.

It was 6.6% in November 2015. 6.0% in 2000 when overall unemployment was super low.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC’s highly qualified workers can’t find jobs: ‘What is happening?’
Washington DC has the highest unemployment rate in the US
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/07/washington-dc-highly-qualified-workers-unemployment

Washington DC’s unemployment rate is now the highest since August 2015, excluding the pandemic, according to the most recent data. More than 300,000 jobs have been cut from the federal government, the region’s largest employer, since 2024. The cuts came after Donald Trump led a purge of federal employees, a move he said was meant to “eliminate waste” and a task he assigned to Elon Musk and his “department of government efficiency” (Doge).

By January, federal public employment had fallen to its lowest level in at least a decade, affecting many other businesses and sectors. As a result, DC now has the highest unemployment rate in the country (6.7%), followed by California (5.5%). And the experts don’t believe the situation will improve in the short term.

Hundreds of thousands of h1bs and L1s , with a smattering of OPTs

Read a little.

Democrats have constantly pushed for more and more cheap workers to replace US workers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC’s highly qualified workers can’t find jobs: ‘What is happening?’
Washington DC has the highest unemployment rate in the US
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/07/washington-dc-highly-qualified-workers-unemployment

Washington DC’s unemployment rate is now the highest since August 2015, excluding the pandemic, according to the most recent data. More than 300,000 jobs have been cut from the federal government, the region’s largest employer, since 2024. The cuts came after Donald Trump led a purge of federal employees, a move he said was meant to “eliminate waste” and a task he assigned to Elon Musk and his “department of government efficiency” (Doge).

By January, federal public employment had fallen to its lowest level in at least a decade, affecting many other businesses and sectors. As a result, DC now has the highest unemployment rate in the country (6.7%), followed by California (5.5%). And the experts don’t believe the situation will improve in the short term.

Hundreds of thousands of h1bs and L1s , with a smattering of OPTs

Read a little.

Democrats have constantly pushed for more and more cheap workers to replace US workers

So democrats are the reason Trump loving Oracle bosses fired 30,000 people and are replacing them with h1bs and AI? It's not a political thing, it's a super rich people thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think a lot of people in DC don't want to work and they are surviving on Govt assistance, section 8 housing and others form of Govt payments.

Do you live in DC? I am sure you don’t. Piss off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC’s highly qualified workers can’t find jobs: ‘What is happening?’
Washington DC has the highest unemployment rate in the US
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/07/washington-dc-highly-qualified-workers-unemployment

Washington DC’s unemployment rate is now the highest since August 2015, excluding the pandemic, according to the most recent data. More than 300,000 jobs have been cut from the federal government, the region’s largest employer, since 2024. The cuts came after Donald Trump led a purge of federal employees, a move he said was meant to “eliminate waste” and a task he assigned to Elon Musk and his “department of government efficiency” (Doge).

By January, federal public employment had fallen to its lowest level in at least a decade, affecting many other businesses and sectors. As a result, DC now has the highest unemployment rate in the country (6.7%), followed by California (5.5%). And the experts don’t believe the situation will improve in the short term.

Hundreds of thousands of h1bs and L1s , with a smattering of OPTs

Read a little.

Democrats have constantly pushed for more and more cheap workers to replace US workers

H1Bs cannot work for the government.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC’s highly qualified workers can’t find jobs: ‘What is happening?’
Washington DC has the highest unemployment rate in the US
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/07/washington-dc-highly-qualified-workers-unemployment

Washington DC’s unemployment rate is now the highest since August 2015, excluding the pandemic, according to the most recent data. More than 300,000 jobs have been cut from the federal government, the region’s largest employer, since 2024. The cuts came after Donald Trump led a purge of federal employees, a move he said was meant to “eliminate waste” and a task he assigned to Elon Musk and his “department of government efficiency” (Doge).

By January, federal public employment had fallen to its lowest level in at least a decade, affecting many other businesses and sectors. As a result, DC now has the highest unemployment rate in the country (6.7%), followed by California (5.5%). And the experts don’t believe the situation will improve in the short term.

Sorry, DC is tiny part of the MSA.

NOVA and Md are doing pretty solid and in line with other areas:

https://www.bls.gov/web/metro/laulrgma.htm

What is the msa?

[Anonymous]

There has been a concerted effort to destroy specific fields by laying off federal employees and ending and limiting contracts and grants. You can be "highly qualified" with a PhD and 20 years of high-level experience in something related to international development, science, or education...but if the jobs in your field got cut in half, where do you work?

And yes you can try to shift to another field, and people are obviously doing that, but this isn't the kind of roaring job market where that's easy to do. 10 years ago half the social scientists I knew transitioned to research or UX design in tech. Now tech companies are doing layoffs. It's hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There has been a concerted effort to destroy specific fields by laying off federal employees and ending and limiting contracts and grants. You can be "highly qualified" with a PhD and 20 years of high-level experience in something related to international development, science, or education...but if the jobs in your field got cut in half, where do you work?

And yes you can try to shift to another field, and people are obviously doing that, but this isn't the kind of roaring job market where that's easy to do. 10 years ago half the social scientists I knew transitioned to research or UX design in tech. Now tech companies are doing layoffs. It's hard.

+1

I work in the nonprofit sector and can report the elimination of federal funding has decimated the “do good” infrastructure domestically and abroad.

I’ve seen so many talented people lose jobs/careers as orgs necessarily downsized (dramatically) or shut down altogether.

I’m hoping I survive the continued downsizing. I’m not sure what I would try to pivot to if I’m kicked to the curb (especially at my age: too young to retire, too old to catch the eye of younger hiring managers).

[Anonymous]

Not a surprise. Moreover, after the various government related lay offs and high cost of living, some families are moving to the Midwest or to the South

[Anonymous]

The highly qualified people are qualified in things not found useful outside of govt, in fact they are probably not useful with in either , it's some type of jobs program for those educated in things that worthless