DC Unemployment Second Lowest in Country

Jobless claims reached a 26-year high last week according to government data released today.  Unemployment rates reached 7.2 percent in December and analysts expect that to increase.  Of course, the unemployment rates vary across the country.  The Washington, D.C. area, for example, has the second lowest rate for any metropolitan area at 4.7 percent.  Why could that be?

Maybe it’s because so many companies are setting up shop in Washington to line up to receive handouts from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and the other recent government bailouts of failing industries.  It would be interesting to see how much money has been spent by the banks, the auto industry, the governors, and the mayors over the last few months in Washington.  It would also be interesting to see how many jobs were lost in other parts of the country to pay for their new lobbyists.  GM, Ford, and Chrysler combined spent $2,233,973 in the 2006-2008 election cycle.