The unemployment rate in the state of Washington remained at 4.5 percent last month, for the third month in a row, according to the state’s Employment Security Department.
Despite the unchanged rate, the state did add 1,600 nonfarm jobs between June and July, with the greatest job growth in government sector (+5,300 jobs).
“The good economic news continues in Washington,” commented Paul Turek, economist for the department. “Unemployment is at a record low and Washington businesses continue to add jobs. Plus, newly released data shows early-year hiring was much stronger than originally thought.”
This month’s report shows gains in education and health services (+2,000), retail trade (+700), wholesale trade (+600) and information and financial services (both +100).
Sectors with the largest reduction in jobs last month were leisure and hospitality (-2,600), other services (-1,600), construction (-1,300) and manufacturing (-1,000).
Year-over-year growth
Year-over-year, the state added an estimated 85,200 new jobs (July 2016 through July 2017), not seasonally-adjusted. The private sector grew by 67,900 jobs, and the public sector increased by 17,300 jobs.
The three industry sectors with the largest employment gains year-over-year, not seasonally adjusted, were:
- Government (+17,300)
- Construction (+12,400)
- Education and health services (+11,500)
Manufacturing (-5,900) and logging (-200) were the only sectors to report job losses.
