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The D.C. Department of Employment Services sent out a press release today touting the District of Columbia's March 2009 unemployment rate of 9.8 percent, which is down 0.1 percent from the 9.9 percent February 2009 rate. Could this mean we've seen the worst of the local job market, and won't ever top 10 percent this year? Not likely, especially considering Mayor Fenty's proposed city government layoffs haven't even been approved yet. The national unemployment rate for March was 8.5 percent, which is up 0.4 percent from February.
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Does anyone know about the armed robbery on 13th NW last night in Columbia Heights? The helicopters
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That tiny drop in unemployment may seem like nothing to someone who is employed, but for those of us who've been laid off, that news is fantastic. Almost as good as winning the lottery.
I wonder if that .1 percent drop in unemployment is related to all the shootings/stabbings/hobo suffocations? I mean, if you're dead, you're not unemployed, right?
What would be even more revealing is a number tracking underemployment. Like graduate students working at Starbucks. Or the executives who go in for a lap dance but decide not to spring for the champagne room. All those jobs not being performed - an underuse of economic capacity that affects us all.
There is such a number.. or one close to it. It's called U-6, and it includes people who are working "part-time for economic reasons" (aka, can't find a full-time job).