Borderstan

In some ways, we live in a bubble of non-reality in DC—some of it good, some of it not. In Ward 2, with live in a bubble within a bubble when it comes to jobs and unemployment. I don’t often link to these types of stories, as Borderstan focuses on a pretty defined area of the city; the bulk of the hood is in Ward 2 with some in Ward 1.

However, an article in the Washington Business Journal caught my eye because of the sheer (but not really shocking) discrepancies in the unemployment rates by DC wards: “Ward 8 unemployment tops 28 percent.” Citing DC labor stats, the WBJ article notes:

The unemployment rate in D.C.’s Ward 8 remains one of the highest in the nation, reaching 28.3 percent in September, according to the D.C. Department of Labor. By contrast, D.C.’s Ward 3, with neighborhoods such as American University Park, Foxhall and The Palisades, has one of the region’s lowest unemployment rates at just 3.2 percent. Ward 2, whose neighborhoods include Dupont Circle, Georgetown and Sheridan Kalorama, had an unemployment rate of 5.8 percent in September. Read entire article

The September unemployment rate for the entire city was 11.4%, according to the DC government. You can find unemployment numbers by ward at the DC DES site and compare them to one year ago.