Washington’s unemployment rate reached 6.2 percent in November, according to preliminary and seasonally-adjusted numbers released Wednesday by the state Employment Security Department. This is the third month in a row the state unemployment rate has gone up.
Despite the slight uptick (a 0.2 increase over October), an estimated 6,800 new jobs were created from October 2014 to November 2014.
According to state labor economist Paul Turek, the increase in the number of new job seekers entering into the labor market’s civilian workforce demonstrates on-going faith in a recovering economy.
“While Washington’s unemployment rate increased again this month, the larger trend is the steady increase in the state’s civilian workforce and continued job growth month-over-month and year-over-year,” Turek said.
Industry sectors with the largest employment gains in November included construction (+3,300), education and health services (+2,100) and professional and business services (+2,000).
The sector with the most job loss in October was government, which shed an estimated 3,400 jobs.
