The regional economy of Washington, D.C. area is slowing down, as well as the District’s hiring rate, resulting in higher salaries, while private sector stands out in terms of employment, according to a recent analysis by the D.C. Policy Center.
In her piece published on Wednesday, Yesim Sayin Taylor, founding Executive Director of the D.C. Policy Center, referring to multiple reports, pointed out that the wages in the District are “increasingly becoming higher compared to other jurisdictions in the metropolitan area.”
Taylor added that D.C. has become “the most expensive place for businesses in almost every industry.”
As federal workforce diminished in the D.C. metro area between 2010 and 2018, private sector made up for the losses in terms of employment, according to the analysis. During this period, employment increased by almost 10 percent in the area (from 2,870,000 to 3,146,000), however, the federal workforce shrank by five percent (17,680). The growth by 12 percent in the private sector compensated for the loss. It currently comprises 78 percent of the D.C. area’s employment.
It was also highlighted in the article that “the District’s regional share in private sector employment is increasing, as the city is outperforming its immediate neighbors: Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax County, Montgomery County, and Prince George’s County.”
On the other hand, the private sector employment boost in several counties of Virginia, such as Loudoun and Prince William, surpassed the District.
D.C.’s leading position in the region’s employment used to be linked to the large federal workforce, which changed in 2016, as it became the “top private sector employment center,” Taylor said. She added that by 2018, D.C.’s private sector employment reached 534,225, growing by 19.3 percent (86,287) since 2010, which is approximately twice the rate of growth in the area.
Taylor’s analysis is based on the employment data by the Stephen S. Fuller Institute, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) and others.
The D.C. Policy Center, which was founded in 2016, describes itself as “a non-partisan, independent think tank focused on advancing policies for a vibrant and growing economy in the District of Columbia.”