D.C. area job growth up 1.2%

The Washington area’s job count in October rose by 35,700 over the same month last year, according to the Department of Labor.

Employment stood at 3,040,900 in October, or a gain of 1.2 percent over the previous year.

While the local job pool grew, the national job count fell by 0.8 percent for the month compared to last year.

The government sector added the most jobs in the area — up 16,000 jobs.

Public sector jobs made up more than one-fifth of all employment in the D.C. area, second only to professional and business services.

That industry added 11,000 jobs, or a gain of 1.6 percent, while dropping 1.7 percent nationally. Education and health services added 9,900 in the area.

Of the 12 largest metro areas across the U.S., only three others -- Boston, Dallas and Houston -- also saw job increases over last October. The Washington area was condensed to D.C., Arlington and Alexandria for that particular statistic.

Sheila Watkins, the Bureau of Labor Statistics regional commissioner, said that October’s advance was the 76th consecutive year-over-year increase in local payrolls, with growth extending back to July 2002 without interruption.