Unemployment Dips in D.C., Va.

Unemployment fell in the District and Virginia in July as students found jobs or left the workforce, while it increased slightly in Maryland due to a surge in job seekers, new government data show.

In the District, unemployment edged down from a seasonally adjusted rate of 10.9 percent to 10.6 percent, the Labor Department reported.

More than 13,000 jobs were added to District payrolls last month, a larger number than for most states. City officials said the increase was largely due to the summer youth employment program. The District still leads the region in unemployment with a rate that remains significantly higher than it was a year ago, when it stood at 7 percent.

A growing number of economic forecasters are saying the worst recession of the post-World War II era is close to ending or has already ended. And the manufacturing sector has lately begun to show signs of stabilizing. But the labor market is likely to be weak well after the recession ends. The national unemployment rate edged down in July to 9.4 percent, from 9.5 percent, due in part to people leaving the workforce and not being counted as unemployed. The Labor Department data released Friday showed unemployment rose in 26 states. Jobs remain scarce, with six unemployed people for every opening and a record one out of every three unemployed people being out of work for 27 weeks or longer.

Across the nation, Michigan still has the highest unemployment rate at 15 percent. The Labor Department will release unemployment data for the Washington metropolitan region as a whole on Sept. 1. link.....