Fatima Hussein, Associated Press

DC unemployment rate is the highest in the US for the third straight month

Published August 19, 2025 at 2:18PM | Updated August 19, 2025 at 3:07PM

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Protective Services wait on a tow truck to take away a food truck on the National Mall, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, in Washington. The owner says his employees were asked for immigration status by ICE and then he was told that the truck's tires were bad and it would have to be towed, though he insists it recently passed DC inspection. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The seasonably adjusted unemployment rate in Washington, D.C., was the highest in the nation for the third straight month, according to new data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

D.C.’s jobless rate reached 6% in July, a reflection of the mass layoffs of federal workers, ushered in by President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, earlier this year. An overall decline in international tourism — which is a main driver of D.C.’s income — is also expected to have an impact on the climbing unemployment rate in the District.