OLYMPIA — Washington state’s unemployment rate dropped to 5.5 percent last month, the lowest it’s been in nearly seven years, officials said Wednesday.
The latest report from the state’s Employment Security Department shows that the jobless rate dropped from March’s 5.9 percent and that the state gained 8,200 new jobs from March to April.
Washington state’s April jobless rate is the lowest since July 2008, when it was at 5.4 percent, state labor economist Paul Turek said.
“I think what we’re seeing is continuing momentum that’s been building in the labor market,” Turek said. “I think the longer we move away from the recession, the more confident businesses become in making investments and adding to the stock of the employed as they’re seeing less of a probability of a downturn re-occuring.”