Unemployment, Number of Jobs Decline in City
Unemployment among District of Columbia residents continued to decline in October, reaching a seasonally adjusted rate of 6:4 percent, William R. Ford, director of the D.C. Labor Department, reported yesterday.</br></br>The rate was a sharp decline from October 1978, when 7.9 percent of the cityÛªs work force lacked jobs. Unenv ployment in the city for 1979 peaked in June when 9.1 percent of the work forceÛÓincluding many students out of school for the summerÛÓlacked employment.</br></br>The figures released yesterday reflected the continuation of a seeming, paradox in the cityÛªs job picture. Although a smaller proportion of city residents lacked work than a year, ago, there also were fewer people workingÛÓin actuaL numbers.</br></br>Last year, there were 302,300 actually at work and 25,400 listed as unemployed and actively seeking jobs. This year, there were 299,300 at work but the number defined as unemployed had declined to 20,500.</br></br>Those who are unemployed but have stopped looking for jobs are not included in the unemployment total. '