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Region leads nation in 12 month job growth

December 10, 2010
THE WASHINGTON POST

By V. Dion Haynes
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 7, 2010; 4:11 PM

The unemployment rate in the Washington region dropped in October to 5.8 percent from 6.3 percent a year ago, according to federal government data released Tuesday. Analysts credited the decrease to a rebound in the retail and restaurant segments sparked by a growing willingness among consumers to spend money.

The region also led the nation in the number of jobs added in a 12-month period, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

It was the second straight month in which the unemployment level dropped significantly in the Washington area. In September, the region's not seasonally adjusted jobless rate fell to 5.9 percent from 6.2 percent the year before, according to BLS data. From October 2009 to this past October, the region experienced a net gain of 43,700 jobs, according to Stephen S. Fuller, director of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University. In the Dallas and Boston regions, which were tied for second place, a net of 23,000 jobs were created, he said.

Fuller attributed the job gains to two factors: The region is seeing an influx of young people moving to the area taking jobs in the federal government and contracting sector, boosting the economy by spending in restaurants and retail shops. At the same time, longtime residents are beginning to feel more confident about their financial situation and are loosening their grip on their wallets. The demand is prompting restaurants and retail shops to expand their payrolls.

"We've hired more than a dozen people. [Next year] we'll need about 100," said Gus Di Millo, a partner in Passion Food Hospitality, which owns D.C. Coast, TenPenh, Ceiba, Acadiana and PassionFish. This year, the group opened a new restaurant in Arlington and plans to open two next year.

"People were downsizing two years ago. Now we're seeing a nice increase in activity," Di Millo added. "Young people have moved into the area, and people who were already here are showing lot more confidence. I'd call it cautious confidence."

Earlier this year, the region's unemployment rate remained high despite the large number of jobs being created in the federal government and contracting sector -- largely because people from outside the region, and not people on the jobless rolls, were filling those positions. But Fuller says that is less the case now.