Employment Stats Brighten DC’s Prospects

WASHINGTON, DC-New statistics from the Labor Department bode well for the nation’s still-painful unemployment picture and, by extension, the DC area as well. The Labor Department has reported that weekly unemployment claims dropped by 34,000 to a seasonally adjusted 407,000. It was a much steeper drop than Wall Street analysts had expected despite the traditionally volatile period between Veteran’s Day and Thanksgiving. Claims may rise again, but optimists note they have been steadily trending down for the past several weeks. 

For the DC area, which has maintained relatively stable employment, albeit with higher unemployment levels than the average, the news is good as upwardly trending employment could give the office sector a much-needed boost. “We haven’t seen the October unemployment figures yet, but I don’t believe they will hold bad news for the DC area,” Jeffrey Kottmeier, vice president and director of research at Cassidy Turley, tells GlobeSt.com. “This will still be a top-growth region.” He points to figures that show the local job markets gaining year to date through October, compared to 2009.