District of Columbia Loses 44,600 Jobs as Federal Employment Falls 14.4%
Updated
Updated · The D.C. Policy Center · Jun 12
District of Columbia Loses 44,600 Jobs as Federal Employment Falls 14.4%
1 articles · Updated · The D.C. Policy Center · Jun 12
Summary
44,600 nonfarm jobs disappeared in the District between January 2025 and April 2026, a 5.8% drop highlighted in a preview of a forthcoming Rivlin Initiative report.
Federal government employment led the decline, falling 14.4%, while professional and business services shrank 4.5% and leisure and hospitality slipped 2.1%.
The broader D.C. metro area also weakened but held up better overall, with nonfarm employment still 3% below January 2025 levels.
Within that region, selected sectors fell even more sharply than in the District—federal jobs dropped 16.6%, professional and business services 4.8%, and leisure and hospitality 2.8%.
Those losses point to sustained labor-market weakness across both the District and its surrounding metro economy since early 2025.