Total nonfarm employment for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, metropolitan area stood at 3,393,700 in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See chart 1 and table 1.)Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that, while employment levels in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, were little changed over the year, the rate of increase nationally was 1.2 percent. (All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year net change for total nonfarm employment in the Washington metropolitan area, April 2022–April 2025

Period	Net change (in thousands)
Apr 2022	115.6
May 2022	111.1
Jun 2022	89.2
Jul 2022	100.0
Aug 2022	95.0
Sep 2022	93.3
Oct 2022	65.8
Nov 2022	64.8
Dec 2022	47.3
Jan 2023	87.4
Feb 2023	70.7
Mar 2023	75.4
Apr 2023	63.6
May 2023	68.2
Jun 2023	88.0
Jul 2023	48.4
Aug 2023	45.6
Sep 2023	40.2
Oct 2023	46.1
Nov 2023	40.1
Dec 2023	51.7
Jan 2024	53.8
Feb 2024	48.5
Mar 2024	49.0
Apr 2024	39.2
May 2024	38.2
Jun 2024	39.8
Jul 2024	53.3
Aug 2024	48.8
Sep 2024	57.3
Oct 2024	59.3
Nov 2024	61.8
Dec 2024	62.5
Jan 2025	26.0
Feb 2025	24.4
Mar 2025	26.2
Apr 2025	26.7

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, is made up of three metropolitan divisions—separately identifiable employment centers within the greater metropolitan area. The Arlington-Alexandria-Reston, VA-WV metropolitan division, with 48 percent of the metropolitan area’s total nonfarm employment, had an employment level of 1,630,300 in April 2025. The Washington, DC-MD metropolitan division accounted for 34 percent of the area’s employment and had an employment level of 1,156,800 in April 2025. The Frederick-Gaithersburg-Bethesda, MD metropolitan division accounted for 18 percent of the area’s employment and had an employment level of 606,600 in April 2025.

In the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area, education and health services had the largest gain (+16,300) among the metropolitan area’s private-industry supersectors as health care and social assistance employment increased by 15,900. The Arlington-Alexandria-Reston division and Frederick-Gaithersburg-Bethesda division contributed 9,800 and 3,300 jobs, respectively, to the health care and social assistance increase. (See chart 2).

The metropolitan area’s mining, logging, and construction supersector added 10,500 jobs over the year, a 6.4-percent increase.

Within the professional and business services supersector, employment in the management of companies and enterprises sector rose by 4,600 jobs, with the Arlington-Alexandria-Reston division contributing to the increase.

  

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Chart 2. Over-the-year net change for industry supersector employment in the Washington metropolitan area, April 2025

Industry	Net change (in thousands)
Education and health services*	16.3
Mining, logging, and construction*	10.5
Trade, transportation, and utilities	1.9
Other services	1.6
Financial activities	0.8
Manufacturing	0.4
Leisure and hospitality	0.4
Information	-0.4
Professional and business services	-8.9
Note: An asterisk indicates statistical significance at the 90-percent confidence level. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, was 1 of the nation’s 12 largest metropolitan statistical areas in April 2025. Four of twelve areas gained total nonfarm payroll employment over the year: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ (+96,100), Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (+52,100), Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD (+35,800), and Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL (+33,400). (See table 2 and chart 3.)

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX, and Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, each had a 1.2-percent rate of job gain, followed by Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL (+1.1 percent), and New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ (+1.0 percent).

  

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Chart 3. Over-the-year net change in total nonfarm employment for the 12 largest metropolitan areas, April 2025 (in thousands)

Area	Net change (in thousands)
New York*	96.1
Dallas*	52.1
Houston	40.4
Philadelphia*	35.8
Miami*	33.4
Washington	26.7
Chicago	16.0
Phoenix	15.1
Los Angeles	11.8
Atlanta	7.0
Boston	0.9
San Francisco	-16.0
Note: An asterisk indicates statistical significance at the 90-percent confidence level. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment release for May 2025 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, July 2, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

This release presents nonfarm payroll employment estimates from the CES program. More information about the CES data is available in the State Employment and Unemployment Summary and the Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment Summary. See the Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment Technical Note for more information on definitions and methodology.

Reliability of the employment estimates. The estimates presented in this release are based on sample surveys, administrative data, and modeling and, thus, are subject to sampling and other types of errors. Changes in metropolitan area nonfarm payroll employment are cited in the analysis of this release only if they have been determined to be statistically significant at the 90-percent confidence level. Documentation on the reliability of state and area estimates is available for metropolitan areas and metropolitan divisions.

Area definitions. The substate area data published in this news release reflect the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineations issued on July 21, 2023. The 12 metropolitan areas discussed in this release are the metropolitan areas with the largest population according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area includes the District of Columbia; Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren Counties, and Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park Cities in Virginia; Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George’s Counties in Maryland; and Jefferson County in West Virginia.

• The Arlington-Alexandria-Reston, VA-WV Metropolitan Division includes Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren Counties and Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park Cities in Virginia and Calvert, Charles, and Jefferson County in West Virginia.
• The Frederick-Gaithersburg-Bethesda, MD Metropolitan Division includes Frederick and Montgomery Counties in Maryland.
• The Washington, DC-MD Metropolitan Division includes the District of Columbia and Charles and Prince George’s Counties in Maryland.

Additional information

State and area employment data from the CES program are available on the BLS website.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry supersector, Washington metropolitan area and its components, not seasonally adjusted (numbers in thousands)

Area	Back data	Apr 2024	Feb 2025	Mar 2025	Apr 2025(p)	Apr 2024 to Apr 2025(p)
						Net change	Percent change
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area
Total nonfarm		3,367.0	3,369.7	3,380.9	3,393.7	26.7	0.8
Mining, logging, and construction		163.3	164.3	168.7	173.8	10.5	6.4
Manufacturing		56.4	56.9	56.9	56.8	0.4	0.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities		395.7	398.6	398.4	397.6	1.9	0.5
Information		81.0	80.7	80.9	80.6	-0.4	-0.5
Financial activities		153.5	154.5	153.7	154.3	0.8	0.5
Professional and business services		808.3	799.8	801.5	799.4	-8.9	-1.1
Education and health services		478.0	492.1	493.5	494.3	16.3	3.4
Leisure and hospitality		323.6	306.1	314.4	324.0	0.4	0.1
Other services		183.9	184.5	183.3	185.5	1.6	0.9
Government		723.3	732.2	729.6	727.4	4.1	0.6
Arlington-Alexandria-Reston, VA-WV Metropolitan Division
Total nonfarm		1,609.4	1,619.4	1,626.2	1,630.3	20.9	1.3
Mining, logging, and construction		84.6	85.2	88.5	92.3	7.7	9.1
Manufacturing		27.5	27.6	27.6	27.6	0.1	0.4
Trade, transportation, and utilities		221.5	222.8	222.9	222.7	1.2	0.5
Information		46.6	46.9	47.0	47.0	0.4	0.9
Financial activities		78.4	79.0	78.8	79.5	1.1	1.4
Professional and business services		452.8	451.9	452.5	451.8	-1.0	-0.2
Education and health services		205.9	215.4	215.9	216.2	10.3	5.0
Leisure and hospitality		151.0	143.9	147.8	149.5	-1.5	-1.0
Other services		80.0	80.0	79.8	80.0	0.0	0.0
Government		261.1	266.7	265.4	263.7	2.6	1.0
Frederick-Gaithersburg-Bethesda, MD Metropolitan Division
Total nonfarm		609.5	601.8	603.2	606.6	-2.9	-0.5
Mining, logging, and construction		32.3	30.7	30.9	31.3	-1.0	-3.1
Manufacturing		20.3	20.5	20.6	20.5	0.2	1.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities		75.9	75.8	75.6	75.5	-0.4	-0.5
Information		12.9	12.9	12.9	12.9	0.0	0.0
Financial activities		36.6	36.7	36.5	36.5	-0.1	-0.3
Professional and business services		133.1	127.9	128.5	129.4	-3.7	-2.8
Education and health services		102.8	104.9	105.2	105.7	2.9	2.8
Leisure and hospitality		52.7	47.3	48.7	50.5	-2.2	-4.2
Other services		26.0	26.9	26.8	27.0	1.0	3.8
Government		116.9	118.2	117.5	117.3	0.4	0.3
Washington, DC-MD Metropolitan Division
Total nonfarm		1,148.1	1,148.5	1,151.5	1,156.8	8.7	0.8
Mining, logging, and construction		46.4	48.4	49.3	50.2	3.8	8.2
Manufacturing		8.6	8.8	8.7	8.7	0.1	1.2
Trade, transportation, and utilities		98.3	100.0	99.9	99.4	1.1	1.1
Information		21.5	20.9	21.0	20.7	-0.8	-3.7
Financial activities		38.5	38.8	38.4	38.3	-0.2	-0.5
Professional and business services		222.4	220.0	220.5	218.2	-4.2	-1.9
Education and health services		169.3	171.8	172.4	172.4	3.1	1.8
Leisure and hospitality		119.9	114.9	117.9	124.0	4.1	3.4
Other services		77.9	77.6	76.7	78.5	0.6	0.8
Government		345.3	347.3	346.7	346.4	1.1	0.3
Footnotes (p) Preliminary
SOURCE: Current Employment Statistics - National - State and Metropolitan Area