News & Events

Economic Barometer Newsletter


Winter 2006

Headline News
 Greater Washington's "Soul" is Healthy  –  The Gallup Organization’s “Soul of the City” survey, analyzed recently by GWI, revealed that a majority of area residents are very satisfied with job opportunities and cultural offerings in the region. The survey was conducted to help city and regional leaders measure and track the area’s political, economic and social well being based on residents’ perceptions. Read More >> Download presentation>>

Heading Overseas? Economic Overview Translated  –  GWI now offers an economic overview of Greater Washington in the following languages: Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, French, German and English. Download Translations>>           

Federal Spending Facts*...Did you know?

  • In FY 2006, the federal government is expected to spend $74.6 billion for information technology; 36 percent of the national IT expenditures is expected to stay in the Greater Washington region.
  • From FY 2004 to 2006, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) information technology spending is expected to increase by 25 percent.
  • In FY 2005, DHS will spend an estimated $390 million in biodefense.  In 2007, the agency is projected to spend approximately $485 million, a 24 percent increase.
  • In FY 2006, the National Institutes of Health will award $3.4 billion in contracts nationally;   35 percent ($1.2 billion) of these contracts are expected to stay in the Greater Washington region. Download Full Presentation >>

     *Source: FedSources, 2006

2005 Economic Trends at a Glance

Job Growth, Low Unemployment at Record Levels  –  

A key measure of the region's economic strength is its robust job growth. Greater Washington continues to lead the nation in job creation, adding nearly 81,000 new jobs between November 2004 and November 2005.  During this same time period, Boston and San Francisco added far fewer jobs:19,100 and 7,000 respectively, and San Jose lost more than 3,500 jobs.                                                                                    

Most of the recent job growth in the Washington area has come in business services, education and health services, state and local government services, and leisure and tourism/hospitality.  In 2005, business services (including technology consulting services) accounted for the largest increase, gaining 25,800 jobs - an increase of nearly 4.2 percent over 2004. 

As highlighted in a recent Fortune magazine article, in the past five years  Washington added 287,000 new jobs, 50 percent more than second-ranked Miami and nearly twice as many as third-ranked Phoenix. Five metropolitan areas lost jobs during the past years, including San Francisco-Oakland (88,000 jobs lost) and Boston (72,000 jobs lost).

The Washington area also continues to have one of the nation’s lowest unemployment rates at 3.1 percent, compared with the national average of 4.6 percent. In Northern Virginia, the unemployment rate is 2.3 percent, and in booming Loudoun County, VA, the unemployment rate is only 1.9 percent.

Growing Business Diversity –  In 2005, the area was home to ten of the nation’s 100 fastest-growing, Hispanic-owned businesses, according  to Hispanic Business magazine. Read Top 100 List>>

A Well Connected Community  –  According to jiwire.com, an online guide to more than 60,000 free and commercial wireless Internet hot spots worldwide, the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia combined have approximately 1,950 known hot spots.  See full list of Wi-Fi locations in the U.S. >> 

Visitors, Conventions Bring Increased Revenues  –  According to the Washington, DC Convention & Tourism Corporation, 2005 was a very strong year for tourism and conventions. Confirming the trend, the region’s leisure and hospitality sector added 11,100 jobs through November of 2005.

Venture Capital Update – In the fourth quarter of 2005, venture capital funding totaled more than $225 million in the DC Metroplex (includes DC, MD and VA), $16 million higher than third quarter funding. However, it was well below last year's fourth quarter level.  Total 2005 funding for the area reached $885 million, $76 million short of 2004's figure. View Report Source: Money Tree Survey, PricewaterhouseCoopers

 

The Greater Washington Economic Barometer is a quarterly communication from GWI for business professionals on regional economic trends and news. For more information on the Economic Barometer or to be added to the distribution list, email greaterwashingtoninitiative@bot.org. To opt-out of this list, please reply to this message with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line. For regional statistics and news, visit our web site at www.greaterwashington.org. GWI is an affiliate of the Greater Washington Board of Trade.

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