Lower April Unemployment Numbers Show District Putting People Back to Work

(WASHINGTON, DC) – Mayor Vincent C. Gray today welcomed news from the DC Department of Employment Services (DOES) that preliminary April estimates show the District’s unemployment rate continuing to decline, dropping another 3/10ths of a percentage point to 9.5 percent. In just the past eight months, unemployment in the District has fallen 1.7 points from a high last September of 11.2 percent.

While unemployment was down in every one of the District’s eight wards in April, the decline was most dramatic in the parts of the city where unemployment has been highest. In Ward 8, unemployment dropped by half a percentage point from the previous month, while the jobless rates in Wards 5 and 7 each dropped by 4/10ths of a percent from March.

“I’m gratified to see that unemployment in the District continues to decline, but we still have more work to do,” Mayor Gray said. “I have made putting District residents back to work a top priority of my administration, and these numbers are a clear indication that our efforts are getting results. Just this week, I announced that our innovative One City ● One Hire program has already put over 3,000 formerly unemployed District residents back to work.”

One City ● One Hire, an initiative spearheaded by DOES, connects qualified, unemployed DC residents with jobs and provides employers who commit to hire unemployed District residents with placement, screening and training support.