OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington state’s unemployment rate remained relatively steady at 9.5 percent, as the state gained about 1,600 jobs last month.
The rate slightly ticked up from February’s revised rate of 9.4 percent. Originally, February’s rate was listed at 9.5 percent, but it was later revised down.
Nearly 348,000 people in Washington were unemployed and looking for work in March, and more than 291,000 people received unemployment benefits, officials said Tuesday.
Washington state had 67,800 fewer jobs last month than in March 2009, a 2.4 percent decrease. Nationally, employment declined 1.8 percent over the past year. The national unemployment rate for March was 9.7 percent.
