D.C.’s unemployment rate dropped 0.1 percent from October to November, landing at 6 percent. The unemployment rates for Maryland and Virginia held steady at 4.2 percent in November compared to the month prior.

Those watching the local economy say the job growth in 2016 appears to be strongest in the private sector. The last time the D.C. area showed these kinds of employment gains was a dozen years earlier when defense spending rose sharply during the military build-up in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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This time, though, the gains are coming at a time when government budgets have remained relatively stable and there is no new surge in funding. The professional and business services sector saw the strongest growth. Lower-paying sectors like health services, leisure and hospitality also showed substantial gains.

“On the surface one could argue that the economy is in the process of pivoting away from its dependence on federal spending as the principal driver of job growth,” said Stephen Fuller, an economist with George Mason.

Northern Virginia continued to lead the region in employment growth with a 2.2 percent jump in the number of employed. Suburban Maryland grew at just 1.4 percent, as notable declines in wholesale trade, transportation and utilities industries dragged down the region’s growth rate.

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Andy Bauer, an economist with the Richmond Fed, said the apparent slowdown in Maryland should be taken with a grain of salt, citing anecdotal evidence from his conversations with regional business people.

“When we talk to our business contacts in the region, you don’t get a sense of slowdown in economic activity,” said Bauer.