The D.C. region pulled out of the recession months ahead of the rest of the nation, according to a year-end economic report from Delta Associates. The report, according to a story in the Washington Business Journal, states that the recession in the Washington area ended during the first quarter of 2009 and, although conditions remain sluggish, the worst is behind and a slow recovery is under way in Washington. The rest of the WBJ story follows:
According to the Delta Associates report, a net 40,400 new jobs have been added in the Washington region since Jan. 31. Metro area unemployment, which peaked at 6.5 percent in June, had dropped to 6.2 percent in September, giving the Washington metro area the lowest unemployment rate among comparable metros.
"The most striking evidence of the recovery is the turn-around in job growth that occurred early this year," Delta said in its report. "In addition, confidence and retail sales are rising, albeit moderately."
The report, completed with Goerge Mason University Professor Stephen Fuller, projects job growth in 2010, with 24,900 new jobs and another 34,900 new jobs in 2011.