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DC has highest unemployment rate when compared to states

Forty-six states and D.C. all had September unemployment rates that were lower than a year ago, but the District’s unemployment rate remains high and, when compared to states, is the highest in the nation.

The District’s unemployment rate in September was 4.7%, down from 5.1% in August and much lower than 6.5% a year earlier.



Maryland’s unemployment rate was 4% in September, down from 4.3% in August. Virginia’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 2.6%.

Minnesota had the lowest September unemployment rate, at 2%, followed by Utah and Vermont, at 2.1% each.

Virginia added 134,700 jobs in the last year, for an annual job growth rate of 3.4%. Maryland gained 88,500 jobs, for a job growth rate of 3.3%.

In the District, the number of jobs rose by 20,100 in the past year, a job growth rate of 2.7%.

The posts monthly state unemployment numbers and changes to civilian workforce online.

Jeff Clabaugh

Jeff Clabaugh has spent 20 years covering the Washington region's economy and financial markets for ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ as part of a partnership with the Washington Business Journal, and officially joined the ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ newsroom staff in January 2016.

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