Washington state’s unemployment rate is at its lowest since June 2007, after falling from 4.7 to 4.6 percent in April, according to the Employment Security Department (ESD).
The seasonally-adjusted rate is 1 percent lower than it was this time last year.
According to the report, employers across the state added 1,200 new jobs in April. While that number is significantly smaller than the number of jobs added in March, Paul Turek, economist for ESD, said the state’s economy continues to trend positively.
“Jobs are being created, unemployment continues to fall and the labor market is tightening,” he said.
Employment by sector
The April employment report shows the greatest jobs growth occurred in government (+1,900), transportation, warehousing and utilities (+ 1,600) and wholesale trade (+ 1,300). Other sectors with gains were retail trade (+900) and information (+400).
The sectors with the largest reductions in jobs were education and health services (-1,200), financial activities (-1,000), leisure and hospitality (-900), professional and business services (-900) and manufacturing (-800). Construction and mining and logging were unchanged.
Year-over-year, Washington has added an estimated 76,500 new jobs. The private sector has grown by 2.3 percent or 61,700 jobs, and the public sector has increased by 2.6 percent, adding 14,800 jobs.
The three industry sectors with the largest employment gains from April 2016 to April 2017, not seasonally adjusted, were retail trade (+16,100), government (+14,800) and construction (+13,700).
