This week’s chart previews a forthcoming report from The Alice M. Rivlin Initiative for Economic Policy and Competitiveness. Down 79,800 jobs: A risk to the District of the Columbia’s superstar status will explore D.C.’s shifting economic conditions and strains on economic growth.
This chart of the week examines employment trends in the District and the D.C. metro area between January 2025 and April 2026.
Between January 2025 and April 2026, nonfarm employment in the District, federal government employment, employment in professional and business services, and employment in leisure and hospitality all declined. Nonfarm employment fell by 5.8 percent—the equivalent of 44,600 jobs lost. The leisure and hospitality sector contracted by 2.1 percent, the professional and business services sector by 4.5 percent, and federal government employment by 14.4 percent.
Although the broader D.C. metropolitan area has also lost jobs since January 2025, it has fared somewhat better overall than the District. Nonfarm employment in the broader region remains 3 percent below its level in January 2025. But among the selected sectors shown, the broader metro area fared worse than the District. Employment in leisure and hospitality declined by 2.8 percent, professional and business services dropped by 4.8 percent, and federal government employment fell by 16.6 percent.
Taken together, these employment declines highlight the weakness of both the District’s and the broader region’s labor markets since January 2025.