Washington Metro Unemployment Rate Rises to 5.3%

Unemployment rates fell in 359 of the nation’s 372 metropolitan areas in June, but Washington was not among the luckier ones.

The Washington metro area’s unemployment rate in June rose to 5.3 percent, up from 5.0 percent in May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Monday. Washington, D.C.’s jobless rate rose to 7.6 percent from 6.7 percent in May.

The total number of jobs in the Washington metro area rose 26,100 to 3.12 million nonfarm payroll jobs at the end of June.

Bismark, North Dakota still has the lowest unemployment rate in the nation at just 2.6 percent. Yuma, Arizona has the highest at 26.9 percent.