This chart of the week tracks nonfarm employment growth in the D.C. metro region over the 55 months (four years and seven months) following the four most recent recessions: July 1990, March 2001, December 2007, and February 2020.
Nonfarm employment measures the total number of jobs in a geographic area but excludes anyone who is self-employed or works on a farm, as the name of the measure suggests.
Two patterns stand out from the data.
First, the D.C. metro region’s nonfarm employment growth following the COVID-19 pandemic does not stand out when compared to recoveries after the July 1990 or December 2007 recessions.
Although the December 2007 recession involved a major financial crisis and slow national job growth, the D.C. region’s recovery was similar to previous recessions because employment in the region held up well. The region’s recovery after the March 2001 recession, however, appears particularly strong.
Second, in the past four recessions, nonfarm employment generally returns to its pre-recession level after 55 months. But the D.C. region’s performance relative to the other metro areas shown varies by recession. Following the March 2001 and December 2007 recessions, the D.C. region performed comparatively well, while it performed less well after the July 1990 and February 2020 recessions.
Notes:
- The author took inspiration from Figure 2 in this November 2024 blog post entitled “When the Signal Gets Jammed, Look to the Trend” by the Council of Economic Advisors. NBER’s “US Business Cycle Expansions and Contractions” dates can be accessed here.
- A previous chart of the week examined D.C. resident employment using the same method.