Washington, DC employers reported 3,292,000 payroll jobs in September 2026, an estimated 61,000 fewer than in September 2025.
Payroll jobs3,292,000September 2026 · Jobs at workplaces
Annual jobs change−61,000Compared with September 2025
Annual payroll growth−1.8%Compared with September 2025
Unemployment rate3.7%September 2026 · 0.4 percentage points lower than September 2025
BLS total nonfarm payroll · Not seasonally adjusted. Payroll counts jobs at workplaces; unemployment measures residents. These are different measures.
BLS marks this annual payroll change statistically significant at 90% confidence. This does not establish a statistically significant difference between metros.
Historical detail below: Census QWI 2025 Q3 · BLS OEWS May 2025 occupation estimates. Each source keeps its own date and coverage.
Historical workforce detail · Census QWI 2025 Q3
Hiring, worker flows and pay in Washington, DC
Census workforce data arrive with a publication lag. These findings compare 2025 Q3 with 2024 Q3 and do not describe later conditions. Open "How this was calculated" for the arithmetic.
Census recorded 3,000,760 jobs in the Washington, DC metro at the start of 2025 Q3, up 1.6% from the same quarter a year earlier. This is historical workforce detail from the latest complete Census quarter saved for this metro. QWI covers private employers and state and local government; federal jobs are excluded. Its job counts differ from monthly BLS payroll coverage.
Jobs, start of quarter3,000,760+1.6% vs. 2024 Q3
Hires in the quarter433,22114.4 per 100 jobs · -0.1% vs. 2024 Q3
Avg. monthly earnings$8,119Stable workers, nominal · +5.7% vs. 2024 Q3
Occupations with local data659BLS OEWS May 2025
JobsCensus QWI · 2024 Q3 to 2025 Q3
+1.6%
Jobs rose 1.6% from 2024 Q3 to 2025 Q3
Beginning-of-quarter employment was 3,000,760 in 2025 Q3, against 2,954,926 in 2024 Q3, a change of +45,834 jobs. That change was larger than in 47 of the 49 other covered metros with matching data for the same quarters.
How this was calculated
(3,000,760 - 2,954,926) / 2,954,926 = +1.6%. Same quarter, one year apart; all industries, all ownership, not seasonally adjusted.
Public administration shows the largest reported job gain, an unusually large change
Census QWI reports that public administration added 35,853 jobs (+56.4%) between 2024 Q3 and 2025 Q3, and holds 3.3% of metro jobs. 8 of 14 industries with at least 2% of metro jobs grew. A change this large in one year can reflect employer reclassification, reporting or geography changes rather than actual hiring or job losses; it does not establish layoffs.
How this was calculated
99,419 - 63,566 = +35853 jobs; ranked by absolute change among sectors with at least 2% of 2025 Q3 employment and published values in both quarters.
86% of comparable occupations have local medians above the U.S. median
Of 651 occupations with a published annual median both here and nationally, 562 have a higher local median, 88 a lower one and 1 the same. The largest such occupation, general and operations managers (112,530 jobs), has a median of $156,460 versus $105,770 nationally. Annual figures are published annualized OEWS wage estimates, not actual annual take-home pay; pay is nominal and not adjusted for cost of living.
How this was calculated
Above: 562/651 = 86.3%; below: 88/651 = 13.5%; equal: 1/651. Occupations with both metro and national annual medians published (top-coded or suppressed values excluded), OEWS May 2025.
Professional, scientific, and technical services is a larger part of the job base than in most covered metros
18.3% of jobs here are in professional, scientific, and technical services, compared with a median of 7.5% across 49 other covered metros in 2025 Q3, about 2.5 times the typical share.
How this was calculated
Sector employment / all-industry employment for 2025 Q3; compared with the median share of the same sector in the other covered metros with the same quarter. Only sectors with at least 3% of local jobs are considered.
14.4 hires per 100 jobs in 2025 Q3, at or below the comparison median
Employers recorded 433,221 hires during 2025 Q3 against 3,000,760 jobs at the start of the quarter. The median across 49 other covered metros was 15.8. This is a flow ratio, not a chance of being hired, and hires are not job openings.
Jobs changed +1.6% and hires -0.1% between the same quarter one year apart. During 2025 Q3 employers recorded 433,221 hires and 444,978 separations, a difference of -11,757. That difference is a flow measure and is not the same as the official change in employment.
Census QWI beginning-of-quarter employment, all industries, private employers and state and local government; federal jobs excluded. Not seasonally adjusted. The axis is truncated: bars start above zero to show change. Compare the same quarter across years because seasonal patterns repeat. The highlighted bar is 2025 Q3.Show as a table
Quarter
Employment
Hires
Separations
2023 Q1
2,889,509
402,613
375,275
2023 Q2
2,921,806
469,748
419,876
2023 Q3
2,971,542
458,212
479,189
2023 Q4
2,952,011
407,182
416,489
2024 Q1
2,941,334
366,976
357,536
2024 Q2
2,952,613
446,649
442,038
2024 Q3
2,954,926
433,594
451,288
2024 Q4
2,937,638
399,511
418,712
2025 Q1
2,921,006
386,139
349,395
2025 Q2
2,957,598
439,856
397,055
2025 Q3
3,000,760
433,221
444,978
Careers · BLS OEWS May 2025
Explore careers in Washington, DC
659 detailed occupations with local estimates, 653 with a published local median wage. Figures describe one survey reference period, not growth, openings or forecasts.
Try:
Showing 1 to 25 of 659 matching occupations. Local jobs are OEWS employment estimates; medians are for all workers in the occupation in this metro, compared with the U.S. median for the same occupation and pay basis.
BLS OEWS May 2025, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area (CBSA 47900). Unknown values sort last.
Occupation
Local jobs
Annual median
Hourly median
vs. U.S. median
National context
General and operations managers11-1021 · Management
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area (CBSA 47900), one survey reference period. They show levels, not growth, openings or forecasts.
Largest occupations by local jobs: general and operations managers (112,530), business operations specialists, all other (76,600), software developers (69,060), retail salespersons (66,920), management analysts (62,360).
Medians are for all workers in the occupation in this metro. "vs. U.S." compares with the national median for the same occupation, same release and same pay basis. 651 occupations have published annual medians both here and nationally. 6 have no published local median.
Annual figures are published annualized OEWS wage estimates, not actual annual take-home pay. Pay is nominal and not adjusted for cost of living.
Some occupations are paid and published on an hourly or annual basis only; the other column then says so rather than showing a converted figure.
"Not released" means BLS did not publish that local estimate. 3 occupations have a median above the BLS reporting ceiling, shown as such rather than as a number. Nothing is filled in or treated as zero.
"U.S. profile" links open national data for the occupation, not Washington, DC figures.
Compare metros
How Washington, DC compares with similar metros
Monthly payroll comparison · September 2026
All payroll rows compare September 2026 with September 2025 from the same BLS release, not seasonally adjusted. These are the same suggested peers used in the quarterly profiles. Estimates do not establish statistically significant differences between metros.
Payroll measures jobs at workplaces. Unemployment rates measure residents and are shown only when a validated estimate matches the same month and metro.
Historical comparison · Census QWI 2025 Q3
Quarterly hiring, jobs and earnings
Every metro in this historical table uses 2025 Q3 and 2024 Q3, from one saved Census release. Monthly payroll comparisons above use a separate BLS source and are not combined with these measures.
Showing Washington, DC with Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami. Default: the 3 covered metros closest in total employment (Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami).
Choose metros (3 of 49 selected)
Census QWI, 2025 Q3 compared with 2024 Q3 for Washington, DC and selected metros.
Census QWI, 2025 Q3 compared with 2024 Q3 for every metro. Hires per 100 jobs is hires during the quarter divided by beginning-of-quarter employment, times 100: a flow ratio, not a chance of being hired. Earnings are average monthly earnings of stable workers, nominal, not adjusted for cost of living.
Suggested peers are the covered metros closest in total QWI employment (smallest ratio difference) for the same quarter. Differences of a few tenths of a point are within normal revision and should not be read as a ranking.
By industry · Census QWI 2025 Q3
Industries behind the numbers
Hires are a count of hires made during the quarter, not unique people or job openings. A large count reflects industry size and turnover.
Largest job gains, 2024 Q3 to 2025 Q3
Public administration+35,853 jobs+56.4%
Health care and social assistance+17,213 jobs+4.6%
Construction+9,564 jobs+5.7%
Largest job declines, 2024 Q3 to 2025 Q3
Professional, scientific, and technical services-19,088 jobs-3.4%
Educational services-3,168 jobs-1.1%
Other services (except public administration)-2,610 jobs-1.6%
Show all 20 industry sectors
Census QWI NAICS sectors, private employers and state and local government; federal jobs excluded. Not seasonally adjusted. Change compares 2025 Q3 with 2024 Q3, the same quarter a year earlier. Not published = not published for every state portion or no matching prior-year quarter. Sectors do not add exactly to the total.
Industry
Employment
Share of jobs
Employment change, 1 yr
Hires
Hires change, 1 yr
Avg. monthly earnings
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
Not published
Not published
Not published
Not published
Not published
Not published
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction
Not published
Not published
Not published
Not published
Not published
Not published
Utilities
10,310
0.3%
+3.9%
683
+7.1%
$10,357
Construction
176,649
5.9%
+5.7%
29,314
+4.4%
$7,561
Manufacturing
56,498
1.9%
-0.7%
5,147
-5.4%
$10,456
Wholesale trade
61,743
2.1%
-2.7%
5,205
-12.3%
$13,264
Retail trade
260,964
8.7%
-0.4%
44,235
-8.3%
$4,413
Transportation and warehousing
90,844
3.0%
+1.3%
15,540
-4.6%
$7,633
Information
87,721
2.9%
+1.7%
8,840
+4.0%
$15,525
Finance and insurance
91,572
3.1%
+0.2%
7,277
-1.3%
$12,692
Real estate and rental and leasing
54,098
1.8%
-0.2%
5,698
-2.5%
$7,851
Professional, scientific, and technical services
549,756
18.3%
-3.4%
48,710
-13.9%
$12,649
Management of companies and enterprises
54,979
1.8%
+9.2%
5,035
-3.6%
$12,554
Administrative and support and waste management
214,000
7.1%
+0.7%
43,104
-1.4%
$6,071
Educational services
281,338
9.4%
-1.1%
58,341
+44.7%
$6,104
Health care and social assistance
391,647
13.1%
+4.6%
52,755
-2.8%
$6,387
Arts, entertainment, and recreation
66,896
2.2%
+3.7%
13,949
+1.0%
$4,781
Accommodation and food services
282,467
9.4%
-0.1%
60,347
-7.1%
$3,185
Other services (except public administration)
165,699
5.5%
-1.6%
19,355
-9.6%
$7,643
Public administration
99,419
3.3%
+56.4%
8,468
+47.0%
$7,835
Sources and limits
Where these numbers come from
Monthly BLS payroll estimates cover September 2026. Census workforce detail covers 2025 Q3, and the wage survey covers OEWS May 2025. Each source retains its own observation period, coverage and publication dates. None is a real-time measure.
BLS monthly metro estimates
Current Employment Statistics (CES) total nonfarm payroll employment. Jobs at workplaces, not unique people, job openings or forecasts. Compare the same month one year apart because these estimates are not seasonally adjusted.
Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) measures unemployment among residents of the metro. Its rate is shown separately from workplace payroll employment.
U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators. Jobs, hires, separations and earnings by industry for private employers and state and local government. Federal jobs are excluded.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. Employment and wages by occupation for Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV.
Monthly payroll estimates measure nonfarm jobs at workplaces, not hiring events, job openings or resident employment. Annual changes are estimates, may be revised and do not establish acceleration or statistically significant differences between metros.
Hires are not job openings and not your odds of being hired. We make no claim about layoffs, AI or other causes behind any change.
Census QWI covers private employers and state and local government; federal jobs are excluded. Its data typically run about three quarters behind publication. This report uses the latest complete saved quarter, 2025 Q3; any newer partial measures are not substituted for the complete quarterly package.
QWI earnings are averages for workers who held the same job all quarter, before taxes, in nominal dollars. They are not salary offers and are not adjusted for cost of living.
BLS OEWS figures (OEWS May 2025) describe one survey reference period. They show levels, not growth, and are a different period from the QWI quarter, so the two are never combined into one measure.
BLS does not release some local estimates; they appear as "Not released", and wages above its reporting ceiling appear as such rather than as a number. None is filled in or treated as zero.
Census publishes this metro as separate DC and MD and VA and WV portions; QWI values here are their sum. BLS OEWS publishes the whole metro directly.
Single-quarter swings in an industry can reflect employer reclassification or reporting changes. Compare several quarters before drawing conclusions.