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 Forklift Attachments Washington, D.C. - Previously the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C. has been known simply as Washington, "the District", and likewise D.C. The US Congress on July 16, the year 1790, approved the creation of a permanent national capital city state as permitted by the U.S. Constitution. The federal district is hence not a part of any U.S. state. It was formed from land along the Potomac River donated by the state of Virginia and the state of Maryland; however, the Virginia section was returned by Congress during the year 1846.
The new capital was founded in 1791, east of the preexisting port of Georgetown; named after George Washington. The City of Washington, Georgetown, and the remaining unincorporated area in the District were consolidated under one government during the year 1871, which formed Washington, D.C., like it exists today. The city shares its name along with the U.S. state of Washington, situated on the country's Pacific coast.
The city of Washington had a population just over 600,000 people. In the workweek, commuters coming from the suburbs of Maryland and Virginia increase the population to more than 1 million. The Washington Metropolitan Area, of which the District is a part, has a population of almost 5.6 million, the seventh-largest metropolitan region in the nation.
Situated within this district are all three branches of the federal government of the United States, and lots of national museums and monuments. The city of Washington likewise hosts embassies of 176 foreign countries in addition to the headquarters of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund or IMF, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Organization of American States or likewise known as OAS, and the Pan American Health Organization or likewise referred to as PAHO. The head offices of several other institutions like non-profit organizations, trade-unions, lobbying groups, and professional associations are also located within the city of Washington.
D.C. has its own city council led by a 13-member council and a mayor. The Congress does however, have authority over the city of Washington and can overturn local laws. Inhabitants therefore have less self-governance as opposed to residents of the U.S. states. The District has at-large, a non-voting Congressional delegate, but no senators.
The economy of the city of Washington has an economy which is growing and diversified with a large percentage of business service and professional jobs. In the year 2010, the District had a gross state product of $103.3 billion, that will place it ahead of 16 US states. As of the month of June 2011, the Washington Metropolitan Area had a 6.2% unemployment rate; the second-lowest rate amongst the 49 largest metro areas within the nation. The District of Columbia itself had a 9.8% unemployment rate during the same time period.
The industries that are growing in the District not connected to governments, consisting of economies in the sectors of education, finance, scientific research and public policy. As of the year 2009, the leading five non-government-related employers within the city of Washington are George Washington University, Washington Hospital Center, Georgetown University, Howard University and Children's National Medical Center. There are five Fortune 1000 businesses based within the city of Washington, of which two are likewise Fortune 500 businesses.
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