Based on https://web.archive.org/web/20260618001349/https://washingto... and https://web.archive.org/web/20260621034150/https://washingto..., it seems like they were added at some point between the 18th and the 21st. I definitely think it helps navigating the site, and it's a nice compromise between Craigslist's text-first style and a nod towards usability.

Nice sleuthing! So it's quite a recent change. It stands out to me that the items up top (faves, acct, etc.) which already had icons also got emojified.

Prior to that, they had already introduced emojis to draw attention to their Craigslist charitable fund: that probably made this a much easier decision.