Federal Agencies Could Add 120,000 Area Jobs

Hiring Boom Hasn't Offset Other Losses

Though the number of unemployed people is rising in the Washington area, Kimberly A. Holder of the Food and Drug Administration has an opposite problem: She's looking for people to fill hundreds of positions slated to open soon.

"We're expanding," said Holder, the FDA's assistant commissioner for management, who is among representatives from numerous federal agencies trying to figure out how the government can fill an estimated 600,000 positions over the next few years.

After falling for two consecutive months, the unemployment rate in the metropolitan region rose to 6.2 percent in May from 5.7 percent in April. The figure, which is not seasonally adjusted, is the highest rate for May since recordkeeping began in 1990. (The Bureau of Labor Statistics revised the April figure from 5.6 percent.)