MoCoRealEstate

Our job market measures-up pretty well

January 25th, 2009 Categories: Market Updates

First the mortgage meltdown in the fall of 2007.  Then, the financial crisis.  Now companies are laying off scores of employees driving up the unemployment rate.  This last hit can be a killer for a real estate market.  You aren’t going to buy a home if you don’t have a job.  But all areas in the U.S. are not affected the same way.  The Washington D.C. job market is a bright spot in a the national economy.

Of the 15 largest metropolitan areas, the Washington D.C. area had the lowest unemployment rate at 4.4% in November, 2008 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Center for Regional Analysis.  The national average was 6.5%.

The CRA even expects the region to add jobs in 2009, although some job sectors will see net losses.  They estimate that around 31,000 jobs were added from November 2007 to November 2008.  Here’s the sectors that did the best:

• Professional and Business Services: +10,800 jobs
• State and Local Government: +10,700 jobs
• Education and Health Services: +9,400 jobs
• Other Services: +8,100 jobs
• Federal Government: +4,800 jobs
• Leisure and Hospitality: +1,400 jobs
• Transportation and Utilities: +600 jobs

Job sectors that lost jobs:

• Construction: -5,300 jobs
• Financial Services: -3,300 jobs
• Information: -2,800 jobs
• Retail Trade: -2,000 jobs
• Manufacturing: -1,100 jobs

Historically our area has weathered economic downturns pretty well.  Today’s environment is unlike anything that most of us have seen, however, so we will definitely be keeping a close eye on our job market this year.  More than anything else, local employment is the bedrock of our housing market.

Do you feel the metro D.C. area has a job base that’s strong enough to pull us through?  Make a comment and let us know your views.

Posted by Bruce Lemieux

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 25th, 2009 at 6:52 pm and is filed under Market Updates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1. 2009 Real Estate Survival Guide for Montgomery County | MoCoRealEstate said at December 3rd, 2011 at 9:19 am

   [...] can’t buy homes without having jobs. The Washington D.C. Metro area has the lowest unemployment rate of the 15 largest metro areas at 4.4% in November inching up to 4.7% in December (the national average is over 6.5%). According [...]

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