Washington’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 9.2 percent in August, up three-tenths of a point from July’s revised numbers.
State Employment Security Department Spokesperson Caitlin Cormier says the state lost an estimated 8,000 non-agricultural jobs in August, seasonally adjusted, after a revised gain of 11,800 jobs in July.
Department Spokesperson Caitlin Cormier comments
[audio:091509_caitlin.mp3]
Industries with the largest declines were in professional and business services, retail trade, and education and health services. Sectors with the most job growth included government, leisure and hospitality, transportation, warehousing and utilities, and construction. The small gain in construction is the first rise in that sector since January 2008.
Asotin County reported 8.4 percent unemployment in August; Garfield County, 5.6 percent; and Whitman County, 5.3 percent.
Year over year, Washington had 126,000 fewer jobs last month than in August 2008, a 4.2 percent decrease. Nationally, employment declined by 4.3 percent over the past year.
