OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington has recorded job growth in every month for the past year, but the state’s lofty unemployment rate is showing no signs of shrinking.
A report from the Employment Security Department on Wednesday found that the state gained an estimated 3,800 jobs in August, raising the one-year total to more than 46,000. The annual growth helped drive down the unemployment rate through much of 2010, but the rate has come back up in recent months and now sits at 9.3 percent.
The department’s acting chief economist says the state is still showing slow and steady progress. Dave Wallace says at some point the constant job growth will start eroding the unemployment rate.
Wallace has theorized that some workers may be picking up multiple jobs, adding to one employment figure while failing to improve the overall unemployment rate.
