Washington state’s unemployment rate dipped below the national average for the first time since May 2014, falling from 5.5 percent in April 2015 to 5.4 percent in May 2015, on a preliminary, seasonally adjusted basis, according to estimates by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The U.S. unemployment rate is at 5.5 percent.
According to a report from the state Employment Security Department (ESD), the state gained an estimated 111,500 jobs from May 2014 to May 2015, on a not seasonally adjusted basis, with 100,000 new jobs in the private sector and 11,500 new jobs in the public sector.
The number of unemployed, or those who currently do not have a job but have actively looked for work in the last four weeks, dropped from 196,500 in April 2015 to 191,000 in May 2015. 62,315 of them received unemployment benefits.
“Continued confidence in the marketplace is resulting in more people entering the workforce but we are now seeing even fewer unemployed,” said state labor economist Paul Turek in a press release. “This is helping Washington’s unemployment rate continue to drop.”
Over the past 12 months, a dozen major industries saw growth and only one suffered losses, according to the report. The five industry sectors with the largest employment gains from May 2014 to May 2015, not seasonally adjusted, were:
- Professional and business services (+19,500 jobs);
- Construction (+19,400 jobs);
- Education and health services (+16,100 jobs);
- Retail trade (+14,600 jobs); and
- Government (+11,500 jobs).
The mining and logging industry lost 400 jobs from May 2014 to May 2015.
Looking month to month, Washington gained 7,700 new private sector jobs from April 2015 to May 2015. The largest monthly gain, on a seasonally adjusted basis, was in retail trade (+2,900 jobs).
