OLYMPIA — The unemployment rate in Washington state has increased for the third month in a row, according to the latest report released Wednesday by the state’s Employment Security Department.
The jobless rate for November was 6.2 percent, up from 6 percent in October. That increase comes despite an estimated 6,800 new jobs that were created from October to November, officials say.
State labor economist Paul Turek says the overall job increases show there’s still faith in a recovering economy.
In a written statement, Turek said “the larger trend is the steady increase in the state’s civilian workforce and continued job growth month-over-month and year-over-year.”
Since last year, Washington state has seen growth in major industries in the state, with the state adding an estimated 82,700 jobs since November 2013.
Industries that saw the biggest gains in November were construction, education and health services, and professional and business services. Government saw the biggest job losses last month, followed by the leisure and hospitality sector.
Two different surveys are used to calculate unemployment figures and job losses and gains. The unemployment rate represents the percentage of the labor force that is unemployed and actively looking for work. People who have stopped looking for work aren’t counted. The job gains and losses estimates are based on a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey of businesses.
The national unemployment rate for November was 5.8 percent, and the unemployment rate in the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett area dropped slightly to 4.7 percent from October’s 4.8 percent.
More than 215,000 people were unemployed and looking for work in the state last month, and more than 70,000 of them received unemployment benefits.
Full unemployment report: http://1.usa.gov/1c1ioz6
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