DC job growth lifts payrolls as unemployment falls to 5.6%

DC’s Department of Employment Services said Tuesday, Oct. 20, that the District’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 5.6 percent in September 2026 from 5.7 percent in August.

For residents across the District, the release points to continued hiring inside the city: employers added 4,600 jobs in September, bringing the preliminary job estimate to 718,700.

Private employers accounted for 3,000 of the added positions, while public-sector payrolls increased by 1,600, DOES said. The numbers come from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly surveys of employers and households.

“The District continues to make steady progress in strengthening its workforce and expanding economic opportunity,” DOES Director Dr. Unique Morris-Hughes said in the release. “As employment rises and more residents participate in the labor market, we remain focused on equipping Washingtonians with the skills, supports, and connections they need to succeed in today’s economy.”

The resident-employment measure also improved over the month. The number of employed District residents rose by 1,100 to 380,400 in September from 379,300 in August, while the civilian labor force increased by 500 to 402,900.

The labor force participation rate, which measures the share of residents working or looking for work, was unchanged at 70.3 percent in September. A year earlier, total resident employment was 381,600 and the civilian labor force was 408,700; the unemployment rate then was 6.6 percent, with 27,100 unemployed residents.

The strongest monthly gains were in educational and health services, which added 2,500 jobs, and professional and business services, which added 1,400. Trade, transportation and utilities added 300 jobs. Mining, logging and construction, information, financial activities, leisure and hospitality, and other services all lost jobs over the month, while manufacturing was unchanged.

Several large sectors remained below their year-earlier levels despite the monthly increase. Professional and business services employment was 160,900 in September, down 2,300 jobs, or 1.41 percent, from a year earlier. Educational and health services employment was 125,500, down 1,700 jobs, or 1.34 percent, from a year earlier.

Leisure and hospitality, a sector closely tied to restaurants, hotels and local spending, employed 75,400 people in September, down 300 jobs, or 0.4 percent, from a year earlier. Information employment was 17,600, down 500 jobs, or 2.76 percent, over the same period.

The figures measure different parts of the labor market. Industry employment counts jobs located in the District and comes from an employer survey. Resident employment and unemployment come mainly from a household survey, which captures whether District residents are working, regardless of where their job is located.

DOES said the September unemployment rate is preliminary and that the August rate was revised. The agency said labor-market estimates are updated monthly and benchmarked annually using unemployment compensation records and other data. Industry employment data is not seasonally adjusted.

The September 2026 final unemployment rate and October 2026 preliminary rate are scheduled for release on Friday, Nov. 20, 2026.

Source: Department of Employment Services press release, Oct. 20, 2026